The Global Cleveland national flags' display at Cleveland Public Library (CPL) Main Branch ( 325 Superior Ave.) requires a serious reckoning. The display includes a flag of Israel which is internationally-recognized as an apartheid state. The Israeli government, with U.S. funding, has perpetuated a 76-year military occupation and genocide of the Palestinian People. Since October 2023, the Israelis have accelerated the brutal genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza, primarily, but in the Occupied West Bank too. Death tolls in Gaza are estimated at more than 100,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023. Save the Children reported, "The latest data released by the Government Media Office in Gaza showed at least 20,000 children - about 2% of Gaza’s child population - have been killed since October 2023.." (September 2025)

We urge CPL to remove this offensive flag from the display and not to include this flag in any other displays, publications or promotions of the Cleveland Public Library system.

Would we have displayed a flag representing South Africa when it was internationally recognized as an apartheid state in the 1980s and 90s? No, and we should not do it now. Remove the genocide flag of Israel.