News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Israel Manufacturers Association has complained to government officials that local flag makers are being overwhelmed by cheaper Chinese flags that are flooding the country towards the 60th anniversary celebrations beginning this week. It said that 95 percent of the flags being sold are from China and that government agencies are among the biggest buyers of the imports.

The local flag-makers have lost approximately 3 million shekels ($870,000) in potential business. Flag sales are expected to be unusually heavy this year because of the diamond anniversary. Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) begins Wednesday night, two days ahead of the Hebrew date of the founding of the modern state, which this year falls on the Sabbath, when most of the festivities would involve a desecration of the holy day.