Doctor Defiant After Israeli Flag Repeatedly Torn Down: ‘It’s A Hate Crime’

A Maryland doctor has said he’s “not going to be intimidated” after an Israeli flag was repeatedly torn down from outside his Baltimore medical office.

The flag has been torn down from Dr John Parkerson’s practice three times since the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out in October.

Footage shared with Newsweek shows what appears to be the same individual pull up outside the office, forcefully remove the flag from its pole, and drive away.

The most recent incident marks the third time the flag has been pulled down, and the second time it has been taken.

The October 7 attacks led by Hamas against Israel led to a surge in antisemitic incidents in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which defines them under the categories of harassment, vandalism and assault. It said that between that date and the end of 2023, there were 5,204 incidents, more than the total for the whole of 2022.

There has also been a rise in “anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate,” according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. It said it had received 3,578 complaints during the last three months of 2023, up by 178 percent compared with the same period in 2022. This included employment discrimination at 662 instances; hate crimes and hate incidents (472), and education discrimination (448).

Parkerson says he initially put up an Israeli flag following the October 7 attacks, which was torn from its flagpole shortly thereafter. He fixed the flag and raised it once again.

All was well for several months—until May 31, when the flag was torn down for a second time and stolen. In June, the same thing happened again.

“It’s the same guy. It’s the same car. It’s the same violent act. You can see the anger in the guy’s face. It’s very deliberate. It was only the Israeli flag. He left the Scottish flag alone, the American flag alone, and the Maryland flag alone. He just tore down the Israeli flag and drove off with it,” said Parkerson.

A spokesperson for Baltimore Police told Newsweek that both previous incidents are currently under active investigation.

The October incident is being investigated as a case of property destruction, and the May incident is being examined as theft.

The Baltimore doctor said the flag was not intended to be a political statement, but rather an act of solidarity with the Jewish people.

“I’m not Jewish, but I’ve got family and friends and colleagues who are. I was just doing it as a show of support to the Jewish community, not to make any big political statement or make anybody mad.”

Parkerson remains defiant and has since replaced his flag.

“[…] we’re on guard but not deterred,” he said. “We’re not going to be intimidated by evil. In this case, it’s just a hate crime, and if I took the flag down and walked away, that would just let the other side say, ‘Hey, we got what we wanted,’ and I’m not gonna let that happen.”

Detectives say they have forwarded the case to the department’s hate crimes unit, according to local reports.

“I don’t want to aggravate this to another level. I don’t see the need to do that,” Parkerson said.

“[I] just want to make people aware and educate them and let them know that evil is here. Beware, and stand up to it. Don’t be silent. And the secondary thing would be to catch this guy because it’s a crime. It’s a hate crime.

“This is not right. This is America. This is western civilization. And if you look at it from a bigger perspective, I just think this is a small manifestation of the fight of good versus evil. And that’s what it boils down to,” he added.

Newsweek has reached out to a Baltimore-based activist group for comment on the difficulties faced by Palestinians as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues.

The string of flag thefts comes as college campuses across the country have been hit by protests in support of Palestinians in Gaza as Israel continues its offensive in the area.

Earlier in June, 13 pro-Palestinian protesters were charged with felony burglary after they had barricaded themselves in the Stanford University president’s office.

Footage recently emerged of a plain-clothes Israeli police officer pulling a protester by the hair during a demonstration outside the home of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The conflict has claimed thousands of lives and left many more injured since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people. The Health Ministry in Gaza reports that more than 35,000 people there have died since the conflict began, according to The Associated Press.

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