{"id":103936,"date":"2026-05-08T12:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T12:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/103936\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T12:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T12:18:09","slug":"a-jerusalem-driver-refused-to-run-over-a-flag-and-changed-how-i-see-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/103936\/","title":{"rendered":"A Jerusalem driver refused to run over a flag, and changed how I see Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"

For anyone who has driven abroad and then returned to Israel<\/a>, the experience can feel disorienting. Israeli driving is often described in the same breath as chaos, improvisation, and instinct. It is a system that somehow works, until it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

This past Wednesday morning, on a highway in Jerusalem, I encountered a moment that forced me to rethink not only driving norms, but the meaning of patriotism and responsible citizenship in Israel today.<\/p>\n

Driving in the middle lane, I was startled when a small Peugeot truck ahead of me came to an abrupt and inexplicable stop. There was no traffic in front of him, no visible obstruction. My immediate instinct was defensive: check the left lane, maneuver around him, avoid what could easily have become a chain-reaction collision.<\/p>\n

As I passed, I glanced over to understand what had caused such a dangerous and unexpected move. The driver, a man perhaps in his 60\u2019s, was already stepping out of his vehicle. His purpose became clear almost instantly: he was retrieving a large Israeli flag that had fallen onto the highway, partially trapped beneath his front tire.<\/p>\n

Like many Israelis, especially after three decades of living here, my initial reaction was not charitable. I cursed him. I judged him. How could someone be so reckless, so self-centered, to endanger others over what appeared, in that split second, to be a piece of cloth?<\/p>\n

But as I continued driving, something shifted.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Temple Mount in Jerusalem. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n

What if he had served in the IDF<\/a>, risking his life for what that flag represents?<\/p>\n

What if he had lost friends, close friends, who died under that same flag?<\/p>\n

What if his son or granddaughter is currently deployed in Gaza, Lebanon<\/a>, or elsewhere, defending the very sovereignty that the flag symbolizes?<\/p>\n

The questions came in waves, each one eroding my certainty, replacing anger with discomfort, and then, unexpectedly, with respect.<\/p>\n

Because the truth is simple: he refused to run over the flag.<\/p>\n

No one would have blamed him if he had. Under those conditions, most drivers would have. It would have been rational. Efficient. Safe.<\/p>\n

But he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

And in that decision, however flawed in execution, there was something deeply revealing about the kind of patriotism that still exists in Israel.<\/p>\n

What does patriotism look like today?<\/p>\n

That moment stayed with me because it collided with a broader question Israel must confront, especially now: What does patriotism mean in a deeply polarized society, during one of the longest and most complex wars in our history?<\/p>\n

Israel today operates under conditions that blur traditional boundaries between war and peace, home front and battlefront, domestic discourse and international perception. This is not theoretical. It is structural.<\/p>\n

We are no longer living in an era where what is said in Hebrew stays in Hebrew.<\/p>\n

Every statement, every accusation, every political attack made for domestic consumption is instantly translated, amplified, and weaponized globally. The firewall between internal debate and international public diplomacy has collapsed.<\/p>\n

This collapse creates a new strategic reality: internal discourse is no longer just internal. It is part of the battlefield.
And yet, our political and media ecosystems continue to behave as if this distinction still exists.<\/p>\n

When Israeli politics \u2018runs over our flag\u2019<\/p>\n

The metaphor from that highway moment is unavoidable.<\/p>\n

Today, in Israeli public life, \u201crunning over the flag\u201d has taken on a different meaning.<\/p>\n

It is not about literal disrespect; it is about rhetorical and strategic behavior that damages Israel\u2019s standing in the world for the sake of short-term political gain.<\/p>\n

It occurs when:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Politicians frame their opponents in ways that are picked up internationally as evidence of systemic failure or illegitimacy.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Media personalities blur the line between critique and delegitimization.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Influencers and public figures amplify narratives that serve partisan objectives but weaken Israel\u2019s global position.<\/p>\n

This is not a call to suppress criticism. Democracies depend on it.<\/p>\n

But there is a profound difference between constructive criticism and destructive amplification, between strengthening the system and eroding it in ways that adversaries can exploit.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s environment, those distinctions matter more than ever.<\/p>\n

Because every internal fracture is no longer contained, it is broadcast.<\/p>\n

Elections, media, and the incentive to divide<\/p>\n

As Israel moves closer to another election cycle, these dynamics intensify.<\/p>\n

Campaign messaging is no longer confined to rallies and party broadcasts. It is embedded in algorithm-driven ecosystems, social media<\/a> feeds, targeted ads, and digital platforms where political messaging often appears indistinguishable from news.<\/p>\n

The incentive structure is clear: outrage drives engagement.<\/p>\n

And engagement drives visibility.<\/p>\n

This creates a dangerous feedback loop where the most extreme, divisive, and delegitimizing messages are rewarded, both domestically and internationally.<\/p>\n

In such an environment, \u201cresponsible citizenship\u201d risks being redefined not as contributing to the collective good, but as winning at all costs.<\/p>\n

Including, metaphorically speaking, running over the flag.<\/p>\n

The urgent need to redefine responsible citizenship<\/p>\n

Israel cannot afford this trajectory.<\/p>\n

If the external and internal arenas are now one continuous space, as they clearly are, then responsible citizenship must be redefined accordingly.<\/p>\n

This is not a legal question. It is a societal one.<\/p>\n

A modern definition of responsible citizenship in Israel must include:<\/p>\n

1. Awareness of consequence: Understanding that domestic rhetoric has global implications. Words spoken for local political gain do not stay local.<\/p>\n

2. Red lines in public discourse: Establishing informal but widely respected boundaries that distinguish legitimate critique from narratives that endanger national standing.<\/p>\n

3. Collective accountability: Citizens, across the political spectrum, must actively reject and call out behavior that prioritizes division over cohesion.<\/p>\n

This means:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Challenging media narratives that cross into delegitimization.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Engaging directly, through feedback, calls, and public commentary, when discourse becomes destructive.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Refusing to normalize rhetoric that undermines Israel\u2019s position globally.<\/p>\n

Learning from the road<\/p>\n

There is a paradox embedded in Israeli driving culture.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, it appears chaotic. On the other, it functions because of an unspoken social contract.<\/p>\n

We assume, often without thinking, that the driver next to us will stay in their lane.<\/p>\n

Not because it is guaranteed, but because without that assumption, the entire system collapses.<\/p>\n

We drive, despite distractions, because we trust, at least minimally, that others will not suddenly swerve into us.<\/p>\n

This is not blind faith. It is learned behavior.<\/p>\n

A shared understanding of limits.<\/p>\n

A collective agreement on what is acceptable and what is not.<\/p>\n

From peace to social cohesion<\/p>\n

In a traditional sense, we speak of peace as the absence of conflict.<\/p>\n

But in today\u2019s Israel, a more relevant definition may be social cohesion, the ability to maintain a shared sense of purpose and truth even amid deep disagreement.<\/p>\n

This does not require uniformity of opinion.<\/p>\n

It requires agreement on certain fundamentals:<\/p>\n

\u2022 That the legitimacy of the state is not a political variable.<\/p>\n

\u2022 That internal disputes should not become external weapons.<\/p>\n

\u2022 That there are lines we do not cross, even when it is politically advantageous to do so.<\/p>\n

Truth, in this context, is not about eliminating disagreement.<\/p>\n

It is about preserving a core set of shared realities that hold the society together.<\/p>\n

A choice we cannot avoid<\/p>\n

The man on the highway made a choice.<\/p>\n

It may not have been the safest one.<\/p>\n

But it was deliberate.<\/p>\n

He refused to run over the flag.<\/p>\n

Israel now faces a similar choice, not on the road, but in its public life.<\/p>\n

Will we allow our political and media discourse to continue operating without regard for the strategic consequences of a world where domestic and international arenas are fully intertwined?<\/p>\n

Or will we redefine the boundaries of responsible citizenship in a way that reflects this new reality?<\/p>\n

Because in the end, the question is not whether disagreements will exist. They always will.<\/p>\n

The question is whether, in the process of expressing them, we are willing to run over the very symbol and substance of what holds us together.<\/p>\n

The author is experienced global strategist and is a strategic adviser and diplomacy fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA). He can be reached at globalstrategist2020@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For anyone who has driven abroad and then returned to Israel, the experience can feel disorienting. Israeli driving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[1725,5143,9366,423,37,499,81],"class_list":{"0":"post-103936","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-army","9":"tag-diaspora","10":"tag-driving","11":"tag-idf","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-judaism","14":"tag-politics"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116538920364947407","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}