Last modified: 2023-06-03 by 
zachary harden
Keywords: ufe | unidentified flags | 2021 |
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Below is a series of images of flags that have been provided to FOTW; some we have recognized, and some we have been unable to recognize. If you can help us identify any of these flags, please let us know! Contact the: UFE Editor.
Identification Key:
= Positive ID (Positive Identification)
= Tentative ID (Tentative Identification)
= Some Speculation Some Speculation
Image located by William Garrison, 11 June 2021
The FOTW Israel website shows many flags. I saw the below flag, but I do not know which group touts it. Looks like this flag is on some cart carrying (music/loudspeaker?) equipment in Jerusalem in preparation for the constantly changing "Flag Day" march in Jerusalem around June 14, 2021. (source)
William Garrison, 11 June 2021
Full image at the link above, but I found a larger version of the photograph and have attached a clip from that.
Rob Raeside, 11 June 2021
The flag is seen during the "סיבוב שערי הר הבית" (Rounding gates of the Temple Mount), more commonly known as "סיבוב שערים" (Rounding gates) which is a unique prayer ceremony, more like a Procession, that is mentioned in ancient Jewish sources thousands of years ago. The participants in the ceremony use to tour around the gates of the Temple Mount, reciting Psalms, observing the customs of mourning the destruction and special prayers for rebuilding the Temple. In modern times, during the British Mandate, Prof. Ze'ev Vilnai renewed the custom, surrounding the gates of the Old City on the evening of "תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב", (transliterated Tisha B'Av), meaning literally the "ninth of Av" (Av being the eleventh month of the civil year and the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar and it is observed by fasting in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of
both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BC (Other sources, mention 587 BC) and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem in 422 BC).
The observance of the day includes five prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25-hour fast. The Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem is read in the synagogue, followed by the recitation of kinnot, liturgical dirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, some kinnot also recall events such as the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans, expulsions from England, Spain and elsewhere, massacres of numerous medieval Jewish communities during the Crusades, and the Holocaust, the AMIA bombing and even the Disengagement plan.
There are a total of 10 Gates.
The goal is to create a public event that will express the connection of the people of Israel with the Temple Mount.
As for the carts carrying speakers, they are to amplify the sound of the readings since there are some open areas along the route where it is necessary for all participants to listen to the prayers properly.
Here's a video illustrating the ceremony.
Now, regarding the so called "Flag Day", the annual "יום ירושלים" (Jerusalem Day, also known as Liberation Day) on the 28th
of Iyar event sees thousands of nationalist Jews march through Muslim-majority parts of Jerusalem toward the Western Wall, in a show of sovereignty to mark the Hebrew anniversary of the city’s east side (East Jerusalem, or the Old City) being captured by Israel during the Battle of Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967. It is an Israeli national holiday and it is officially marked by state ceremonies and memorial services.
The route has long been deemed provocative by Israeli and Palestinian critics since local Arab proprietors are forced to shutter their stores so law enforcement can secure the Palestinian-majority area for the mainly nationalist Jewish revelers.
This year's constant flag day change, which was originally scheduled to take place from Sunset, 9 May – to nightfall, 10 May which came amid heightened tensions over planned evictions of Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh
Jarrah and a police clamp down of rioting on the Temple Mount, had also been rerouted to avoid the Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter, following pressure from the US, which expressed concern that the parade could cause tensions to boil over. Moreover, it was stopped short by rocket fire from Hamas at Jerusalem, which sparked an 11-day bout of intense fighting until a cease fire came into effect on May 21.
It was marked by protests and police riot control, rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Israeli air strikes targeting the Gaza Strip. The crisis was triggered on 6 May, when Palestinians began protests in East Jerusalem over an anticipated decision of the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of six Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. Under international law, the area, effectively annexed by Israel, is a part of the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel applies its laws there. On May 7, according to Israel's Channel 12, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli police forces, who then stormed the compound of the al-Aqsa Mosque using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades. The crisis prompted protests around the world and reactions from world leaders. The violence coincided with Qadr Night (8 May), observed by Muslims, and Jerusalem Day (9 –10 May), an Israeli national holiday. The confrontations occurred ahead of a planned Jerusalem Day march, Dance
of Flags, by far-right Jewish nationalists that was later canceled.
References: source #1, source #2, and source #3.
And here's a video displaying this year's Dancing flags (or parade flags), transliterated as Rikodglim).
More References: source #4, source #5, source #6 and source #7.
Here are some more detailed additional images.
#32a
#32b
#32a
Image located by Esteban Rivera, 8 August 2021
Images attached:
Tentative ID
Image from William Garrison, 10 July 2021
While it looks like something from a Rorschach ink-blot test, the below large yellow/black flag is associated with Lebanon's Hezbollah. I do not know what the image pertains to. The caption reads: "Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ride in a convoy marking 'Resistance and Liberation Day', in Kfar Kila village, near the border with Israel, in southern Lebanon, May 25, 2021. (Aziz Taher / Reuters Archive)". (source)
William Garrison, 10 July 2021
Image from William Garrison, 10 July 2021
Ink blot, indeed! If you turn the image 90 degrees right, I think you will see a two-tone photographic rendering of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in his imam robe facing left and apparently seated. His turbaned and bearded head is at the top of the image.
There is a precedent for this. Nasrallah's full-face portrait in two-tone appears on a yellow scarf.
T.F. Mills, 25 July 2021
Positive ID
Image from Douglas Arbittier , 10 July 2021
This is in the silver plate on top of the surgical set. The surgeon who invented the instrument inside the box was somehow appointed by a king in Italy. It has some elements of the Medicis but is not like what I have seen in flags etc. it just has many of the elements. Any insights or recommendations of who to talk to would be greatly appreciated.
Douglas Arbittier , 10 July 2021
This isn't really a UFE Flag - it's a coat of arms on silver plate. The question is what arms? Any recommendations to help Doug hunt it down? FWIW, I see the Medici arms in the top left compartment, so maybe Italian, although the crown looks Spanish.
Rob Raeside, 11 July 2021
Image located by Ralph Kelly, 12 July 2021
It is the coat of arms of Maria Luisa, Duchess of Lucca (1815-1824). Attached is a drawing from Wikipedia.
Ralph Kelly, 12 July 2021
Some Speculation
Image from Art, 12 July 2021
I am enclosing a drawing of a flag seen in Hialeah, Florida, during a manifestation of Cubans in support of the upheaval in Cuba against the Communist Government. This flag reminds me of the Czech flag.
NB: Flag seen on a Channel 51 Telemundo. report (telemundo com)
Art, 12 July 2021
I've checked many news outlets (including tv and social media) and have not seen this flag reported yet.
In fact, in the news compilation online available yesterday of that local tv station, Telemundo 51, that flag labeled as UFE is nowhere to be found.
Maybe if the original sender can pinpoint the source, we could actually verify if this is indeed a flag used during the recent protests, or if it's simply just a misidentification case based on visual observation.
Other flags have been used though. That is: aside from the Cuban flag (both all throughout Cuba as seen in this video and elsewhere, mainly in Miami), several other flags have been spotted during a rally held yesterday in Miami, in which Mayor of Miami, Francis X. Suárez is seen, over at Calle 8 (8th Street) in an area known as "Little
Havana", outside the traditional Versailles Restaurant the traditional concentracion spot for Cuban exiles in the city:
#35a
#35b
#35c
#35d
#35e
Images located Esteban Rivera, 12 July 2021
There are similar designs among these proposals on Ancient Heraldry.
Vanja Poposki, 12 July 2021
Tentative ID
Image located by William Garrison, 15 July 2021
I found this Ukrainian Interior Department flag c2019, but I cannot identify it. The caption read: "Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov speaks at a news conference in Kyiv in 2019.Credit: Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters".
Source: Haaretz.
William Garrison, 15 July 2021
Image located by Victor Lomantsov, 16 July 2021
The design of this flag is like that used by the Ukrainian military, but what is the
green cross for? At Ukraine - Military Rank Flags we can find several similar designs.
So lets turn on some logic. The Ministry of the Internal Affairs oversees five services:
If the current decree is correct, the flag above was carried over to the renamed State Border Guard Service after it was adopted in 2001.
The decree for the flag itself is as follows:
APPENDIX No. 3 to the Decree of the President of Ukraine of August 7, 2001 No. 594/2001
DESCRIPTION of the flag of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine:
The flag of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine is a rectangular crimson banner with an aspect ratio of 2:3. In the center of the banner is an image of the emblem of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The height of the emblem is 2/3 of the height of the banner, and the width is 1/2 the width of the banner. The diameter of the wreath is 1/4 of the width of the cloth. Both sides of the cloth are identical.
Head of the Administration of the President of Ukraine V. LYTVYN"
In the Decree and Annexes No. 1 - No. 15 the words "Border Troops", "State Committee for State Border Protection", "Chairman of the State Committee for State Border Protection of Ukraine - Commander of the Border Troops of Ukraine" in all cases are replaced by the words "State Border Guard Service", "Administration of the State Border Guard Service", "Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine "in the relevant cases in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 1227/2003 (1227/2003) of October 29, 2003)
So, I contend the flag is still the same as that we have at this page and still used for the
State Border Guard Service despite the rename in 2003.
Zachary Harden, 16 July 2021
Image located by Anonymous, 31 July 2021
This is the emblem of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and you can see other emblems and flags there of the State Border Guard Service.
[Translation from source by UFE Editor: "Coat of arms of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
The coat of arms of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine is a raspberry round shield with golden perch, against which there is a heraldic sign of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine - an emblem of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine with the image of a key and two crossed swords upwards. The key hole has the shape of an equilateral cross with divergeable rays, and a beard has two symmetrical walls. The images of the key and swords are golden."]
Anonymous, 31 July 2021
Speculative image by Pete Loeser, 14 August 2021
I provide this speculative drawing of the State Border Guard Service Flag based on their shield posted on their website.
Pete Loeser, 14 August 2021
Image from Victor Lomantsov, (Виктор Ломанцов), 16 August 2021
Let us not fantasize! The flag seen on the photo has no the vertical key above the cross. This design (with 2 GOLDEN swords and a key) is used as symbol of the Administration since 2001 (as the emblem and detail of the Head of Administration personal standard), but it was not used on the service flag.
I repeat my opinion: it is the new flag of The State Border Service after reorganization in 2003. It looks like service flag of 2001, but now the flag has 2 crossed swords behind the cross. And have no the key, of course.
We have no official documents yet (all documents confirmed variant of 2002, without the swords). But we saw several photos with this flag near Minister of Interior. - i.e the official using of this flag in 2020-2021 is a fact.
Victor Lomantsov, (Виктор Ломанцов), 16 August 2021
Speculative image by Pete Loeser, 16 August 2021
I provide this second speculative drawing of the new State Border Guard Service Flag based on the recent pictures Victor provided.
Pete Loeser, 16 August 2021
I could not find any decrees to show the badge was redone, but I also wonder if it was just an error on the flagmakers? The first I have seen was this flag is in 2019 and also this 2017 photo. There are also badges that use the swords without keys, so that is what I am leaning towards.
I've only seen this flag at the MBC headquarters from these pictures I have found.
Zachary Harden, 16 August 2021
Positive ID
Claude Waldteufel, 22 July 2021
je viens de découvrir et parcouru avec beaucoup d'intérêt le site des
drapeaux du monde. (FOTW Flags of the World)
J'ai un "fanion" ancien dont je cherche la provenance et la signification.
Peut-être pourriez vous m'aider ?
Grand merci par avance.
Très cordialement.
Claude Waldteufel, 22 July 2021
The text simply asks if we can help him identify this old "pennant". The
stamped text on the sleeve of the flag "Wendefl. rot-schwarz" translates as "reversible red-black".
Rob Raeside, 22 July 2021
A German Signal flag, from before the war. Also, it's upside down.
(Drapeau de signalisation allemand, d'avant la guerre: rouge. En outre, il est à l'envers.)
Source: German Signal Flags: Red (Rot).
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 22 July 2021
Some Speculation
Image from Homero Garza Jr., 28 July 2021
I was wondering if you could help me out with identifying this unknown flag that I saw when I watched a New York Times video about the Capitol Riot of 1/6... Here is a photo of it. Hope you guys can be able to ID it.
Homero Garza Jr., 28 July 2021
Is it possible that Mr. Homero Garza Jr. can share with us the link, date or any other type of information that can allow us to look for further information? I didn't see the original source nor the date spotted, so it is rather difficult to work with just what we have at the moment.
Esteban Rivera, 31 July 2021
Some Speculation
Image from William Garrison, 10 August 2021
Anybody recognize these Unknown Purple Flags in in protest in Palestine? (source)
The caption reads: "Palestinians protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 9, 2021, in solidarity with Palestinian families facing Israeli eviction orders in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. (ABBAS MOMANI / AFP)"
The unidentified purple flags being carried during Palestinian march in Ramallah in solidarity with Palestinian families facing Israeli eviction order in the sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on May 9, 2021. Pertaining to the purple flag in the middle-left of this photo, slightly to its lower right there appears to be another purple flag but with a different slogan in white.
William Garrison, 10 August 2021
I am not sure these are flags (in the sense that they represent a coherent group of people or organization), but rather these might be banners displaying a slogan. Either way, there must be good business in producing flags and banners in the Middle East!
Rob Raeside, 10 August 2021
The context of the situation and the image is the following:
In 1947, there were about 100 Jewish houses in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. East Jerusalem came under Jordanian rule following the 1948 War. The evacuated Jewish residents were
resettled in Palestinian homes in West Jerusalem. The neighborhood derives its name from Hussam al-Din al-Jarrahi, an emir and the personal physician of Saladin. Due to his extensive work in medicine, Hussam received the title of jarrah (جراح), meaning "healer" or "surgeon" in the Arabic language. Hence he is dubbed "جراح القدس" (Jerusalem surgeon).
The Ashkenazi portion of the property south of the tomb of Hussam, which subsequently became a destination for Muslim mystics and visitors remained open space, and in 1956, 28 housing units for Palestinian refugees were constructed there. The Jordanian government agreed with the United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA to house 28 Palestinian refugee families, who were required to pay rent to the Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property. These Palestinian families had
previously lived in Haifa and Jaffa, but had been displaced in 1948.
After the Six Day War (1967) and the occupation of East Jerusalem by Israel, Jewish settlers began to request permission to build and/or occupy already existing houses in that area based on legal grounds, mainly the Absentees Property Law, which established the Office of the Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property to manage the property of absentee Palestinian refugees (including refugees who later became citizens of Israel, called "present absentees") of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War (1949. During the Six-Day War (1967), along with previously Palestinian properties, Israel took control of the Jewish
property held by the Jordanian Custodian for Enemy Property and put it under the control of their own Custodian of Absentee Property. Most of this property remains under the Custodian, while some (as in the Sheikh Jarrah case) has been granted to Jews contesting ownership, after claiming it in court.
Also, there have been times where formal acquisition of land and houses by the Israelis has been done through certain financial
mechanisms, mainly trusts. So the intention to relocate and resettle by both peoples is what has caused tensions among them.
In recent times, more properly this year, in 2021, Israel's Supreme Court had been expected to deliver a ruling on May 10, 2021 on whether to uphold the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood that had been permitted by a lower court. The order covers 13 families (other sources mention six), 58 people including 17 children. Six families were to be evicted by 2 May (subject to Supreme Court ruling) and a further seven families by August 1.
So, on May 6, several Palestinians began protests in East Jerusalem over an anticipated decision of the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of six Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. Under international law, the area, effectively annexed by Israel, is a part of the occupied Palestinian territories. On May 7, according to Israel's Channel 12 (official website, Palestinians began throwing stones at Israeli police forces, who then stormed the compound of the al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as Bab Nablus and Sheikh Jarrah, using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades. The crisis prompted protests around the world and reactions from world leaders.
The violence coincided with Qadr Night (May , observed by Muslims, and Jerusalem Day (May 9–10), an Israeli national holiday. The confrontations occurred ahead of a planned Jerusalem Day march, "Dance of Flags", by alt-right Jewish nationalists that was later canceled. More than 600 people were injured, mostly Palestinians, drawing international condemnation. On May 9, 2021, the Israeli Supreme Court delayed the expected decision on evictions for 30 days, after an
intervention from Attorney General of Israel Avichai Mandelblit, which sought to reduce tensions.
On the afternoon of May 10, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas, gave Israel an ultimatum to withdraw security forces from the Temple Mount complex and Sheikh Jarrah by 6 p.m. When the ultimatum expired without a response, both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad began launching rockets, which led Israel Forces to retaliate.
This escalation of military actions has been dubbed the "2021 Israeli-Palestinian crisis", "The Israeli-Palestinian clashes 2021", "Jerusalem confrontations 2021" or even the "Saif al-Quds Battle 2021" that lasted from May 6–21, May 2021.
References: source #1,
source #2,
source #3,
source #4,
source #5,
source #6,
source #7, and
source #8.
#39a
#39b
Images located by Esteban Rivera, 10 August 2021
Positive ID
#40a
#40b
Images from William Garrison, 12 August 2021
Two photos showing unidentified flags of possible Kuwait cabinet agencies. One of them has a crown on the Kuwait national flag - might be some royal flag.
William Garrison, 12 August 2021A couple of photos from different sources of six flags. In #40a we see four flags. The centre ones are the Kuwait and the emir's flags. The flanking flags are not on FOTW. On #40b, we see two more flags that were standing to the right of the four flags in the first image. Again, not on FOTW.
Full images in the links below - cropped images attached.
Rob Raeside, 12 August 2021
Images from Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 August 2021
The yellow color represents Kuwait Land Force.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 12 August 2021
Image from Esteban Rivera, 10 August 2021
The complete image for #40a is seen here. (source) From left to right, there are a total of nine flags, from left to right:
#40f
#40g
#40h
Images from Esteban Rivera, 10 August 2021
#40i
image from Esteban Rivera, 10 August 2021
Images from Pete Loeser, 12 August 2021
The Kuwait Naval Force (القوة البحرية الكويتية), is the naval component of the Kuwait Armed Forces. It is headquartered at the Mohammed Al-Ahmad Kuwait Naval Base, which is the sole naval base in Kuwait.
The Kuwait Fire Service Directorate or KFSD (مديرية خدمات الإطفاء الكويتية), sometimes called simply the General Fire Service (KFF) (دائرة الإطفاء العامة), is a public safety company located in Al Qebia. The initial driving force for its formation was the need for professional fire fighting, rescue, and fire prevention services to protect the country's oil resources. Today it's stated objectives have expanded to "the protection for all lives and properties from fires, crashes, collapses, and natural disasters, and preventing them."
Pete Loeser, 12 August 2021
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