Where is the flag?
Where is the flag?Zionist Union spokesman's unit

Labor/Zionist Union leader Yitzhak Herzog has come under Facebook fire since Tuesday for agreeing to sit for a photo with Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas – despite the fact that there was no Israeli flag behind him, as protocol demands.

Herzog posted a photo of the meeting on his Facebook page and wrote: "Don't be worried. Don't be afraid. Dare to ensure a better future for our peoples.”

Comments from critics were fast and furious. “You sly fox,” wrote Amir Moyal, sarcastically. “Abu Mazen said not to bring a flag, but you are not worried, not afraid, you dare!!!! You played a trick on him with a blue tie, which, along with the white shirt, is precisely an Israeli flag!!!! Now there's a leader for you!!!”

"Next time, bring a flag from home,” wrote Yaki Morad.

"What do you want from him, guys?”, asked Irit Hodorov. “The Israel flag is in the laundry.”

Ronen Braverman asked: "If you represent the 'Zionist' union, where is your country's flag?” And Amir Levy imitated 1970s children's cartoon riddles and wrote: “Dear children, please help Buji [Herzog] find what flag is missing in the picture.”

Boaz Golan, who owns the 0404 news site, had a different take on the matter.

"Unlike many people who verbally attacked you on your Facebook page, and said that you should be ashamed for not having the Israeli flag on the side where you are sitting, we actually are not too excited about the story and do not want to see our flag next to the detestable terror organization, the PLO.

"We are sorry that you are hurting our national pride, Buji. We are sorry that you and your likes weaken us in the face of the terror organizations. They hurt us and we run to them for a selfie and to write a few words. Shame on you!”

Flag-gate developments:

In the wake of "flag-gate," an alert Facebook user did some research and discovered that Abbas's photo ops in Ramallah almost never feature the flag of his guest, even when the guest is a head of state. Photos of Abbas hosting various leaders and diplomats including John Kerry, the President of Cyprus, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini and others, all show the PLO flag behind Abbas but no flag behind the guest.

However, an even more alert user pointed out that the photos do feature miniature flags which are always placed on the table between the two diplomats. 

One such photo is that of Angela Merkel's visit to Ramallah in 2007:

Merkel, mini flags, Abbas, in 2007.
Merkel, mini flags, Abbas, in 2007.Reuters

Herzog was not honored even with the mini-flag.