The image of the flag, which is half white and half blue with the Star of David in its centre, is spreading on Facebook (archived) with claims that it shows the official 1939 Palestinian flag. “The 1939 flag of Palestine shows that it was recognized as a Jewish entity even then,” one Facebook account wrote (archived). According to academics who spoke to Reuters, the flag seen in circulating images is not an official flag of historical Palestine. An example of a mandate-era official flag from 1946 can be seen on the British Imperial War Museums website. The official flag of mandate Palestine in 1939, during which Palestine was administered by Britain as a League of Nations Mandate, was a Union Jack.

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Persons: David, Shay Hazkani, Joseph, Rebecca Meyerhoff, Jack, ”, Salim Tamari, Tamari, Sharif Hussein, Derek Penslar, William Lee Frost, “, Union Jack, Penlsar, Tamir Sorek, Read Organizations: Zionist, Palestinian, Jewish, Star, Larousse, Reuters, Center for Jewish Studies, University of Maryland, League of Nations, Institute of Palestine Studies, Birzeit University, British, Harvard University, Union, Penn State University, Society, International Affairs, Britain, League of Nations Mandate, Thomson Locations: Palestine, Larousse French, Israel, Ottoman Empire, Union