A British Israeli academic has told the BBC of his shock at being detained by Israeli police for wearing a Jewish kippah, or head covering, embroidered with an Israeli and a Palestinian flag.
Alex Sinclair, 53, was taken from the cafe where he was sitting near his home in Modiin, central Israel, on Monday, ordered to hand over his kippah and locked in a cell.
He said when the item was returned to him, the part with the Palestinian flag had been cut off.
The unusual case has gained domestic and international attention after Sinclair shared the details in a social media post. Police told the BBC a complaint has been filed with their internal investigations division.
Sinclair, who is also a novelist, was working on his laptop in the cafe when, he said, a religious man came over to me with an angry face and shouted at me that my kippah is against the law.
He invited the man to discuss his views, but he refused and called the police instead. When officers arrived, they told Sinclair that his kippah was illegal and confiscated it.
After being taken to the police station, Sinclair insisted on having his kippah returned. However, when he received it back, he found that the part featuring the Palestinian flag had been cut out. Sinclair described the incident as surreal.
Sinclair's kippah had been a personal symbol of his Jewish-Zionist identity for over twenty years, and he expressed a hope for coexistence among Jewish and Palestinian people in Israel.
The story has sparked widespread debate regarding freedom of expression and police conduct, especially given the current far-right policies in Israel regarding Palestinian symbolism. Sinclair has filed a complaint against the police for unlawful detention and damage to property.
Following the incident, he has expressed intentions to order a new kippah that features both flags, and his tale has ignited discussions around cultural identity and political expression in Israel.
