Empire State Building causes confusion with lighting of Italian flag on Columbus Day – with some mistaking it for Palestinian – while White House in DC lights up with Israeli flag
- On Monday evening, the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and green in commemoration of Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples Day
- The choice of lighting led to some confusion, with some misinterpreting the colors as those of the Palestinian flag, which shares the same colors
- The Empire State Building was lit up this weekend in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, while the White House was also in similar colors on Monday
The choice of lighting on the Empire State Building on Monday evening appeared to cause some confusion, with some confusing the lights with those of the Palestinian flag, which has identical colors to Italy’s.
In a tweet, the Empire State Building explained how the choice of the colors red, white and green on Monday evening was to celebrate Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples Day.
But the shared similarities in the colors of the flags of Italy and Palestine were not lost on those on X.
“Unfortunately the optics/colors at the moment,” wrote Fox journalist Kassy Dillon.
On Monday evening, the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and green in commemoration of Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples Day
The choice of lighting led to some confusion, with some misinterpreting the colors as those of the Palestinian flag, which shares the same colors
Several social media users were unimpressed by the color choice on Monday evening
‘My God. They need to replace those lights now. The same colors as Palestine. It’s not a good time for that,” noted history teacher Kelly Norton.
“I’m going to stick my neck out and say it’s not a coincidence,” one user wrote.
“Oh, oh, that’s a shame,” another added.
New York’s Jewish population is the largest in the world outside Israel, with 1.77 million Jews spread across the city, according to figures 2023 facts.
The Empire State Building was lit up Saturday evening in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, in support of the country.
It was a similar story in Washington DC, where the White House was also lit in blue and white to underline American solidarity with Israel.
The White House was lit in blue and white to underline American solidarity with Israel
People stand with an Israeli flag outside the White House, lit in blue and white Monday evening
The White House will be illuminated Monday in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag
Last weekend, the Empire State Building was lit blue and white in solidarity with Israel
The Empire State Building illuminated in the colors of the flag of Israel, as seen from New Jersey
A number of other buildings on the New York skyline were bathed in blue light
