{{pp|small=yes}} {{Short description|Handmade Israeli flag raised at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War}} [[File:Raising the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash (Eilat).jpg|thumb|''Raising of the Ink Flag'', a photograph by Micha Perry. The soldier on the pole is Captain Avraham Adan.]]
The '''Ink Flag''' ({{langx|he|דֶּגֶל הַדְּיוֹ}}, ''Degel HaDyo'') was a handmade Israeli flag raised in March 1949 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to mark the capture of Umm Rashrash. The flag’s display in what later became the city of Eilat was replaced two hours later by an official flag when the Golani Brigade arrived. The raising of the Ink Flag is considered to be the end of the war and the birth of Israel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.jpost.com/christian-news/today-in-history-winning-eilat-with-an-ink-flag-447516|title=Today in History: Winning Eilat with an ink flag - The Jerusalem Post|date=10 March 2016 |accessdate=29 March 2023}}</ref>
==History== On 5 March 1949, Israel launched Operation Uvda, the last military maneuver of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. On 10 March, the Israeli Defense Forces reached the shores of the Red Sea at Umm Rashrash, west of Aqaba in the area of biblical Elath, and captured it without a battle. The Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade took part in the operation. A makeshift flag created from a white sheet inscribed with ink was raised by Captain (later General) Avraham Adan, company commander of the 8th Battalion of the Negev Brigade.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/general-avraham-adan-soldier-who-raised-the-ink-flag-that-signalled-the-birth-of-israel-8198453.html|title=General Avraham Adan: Soldier who raised the 'Ink Flag' that signalled|date=4 October 2012|website=The Independent|accessdate=29 March 2023}}</ref>
The improvised flag was made on the order of Negev Brigade commander Nahum Sarig, when it was discovered that the brigade did not have an Israeli flag on hand. The soldiers found a sheet, drew two ink stripes, and sewed on a Star of David torn off a first-aid kit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://israelity.com/2011/08/21/nostalgia-sunday-eilat/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203083942/http://israelity.com/2011/08/21/nostalgia-sunday-eilat/|url-status=dead |title=Israelity Resources and Information|archive-date=3 December 2013|website=israelity.com|access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>
In Eilat, a bronze sculpture by Israeli sculptor Daniel Kafri<ref name="DANIEL KAFRI sculpture">[http://www.jposttravel.com/center_tours/telaviv.html?x=27&y=13 DANIEL KAFRI sculpture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713122214/http://www.jposttravel.com/center_tours/telaviv.html?x=27&y=13 |date=2011-07-13 }}</ref> commemorates the event, unveiled on 28 February 1996. This historical place was already declared a National Heritage Site on 19 January 1994. The photo of the raising of the Ink Flag, taken by the soldier Micha Perry, bears resemblance to the 1945 American photo ''Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121103101242/http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/former-idf-general-israeli-icon-avraham-adan-dies-at-86-1.467408 Former IDF general, Israeli icon Avraham Adan, dies at 86], Haaretz</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery perrow="5"> File:Flag of Israel (1948).svg|Digitised rendition of the Ink Flag File:Degel HaDyo - sculpture.jpg|Commemorative sculpture by Daniel Kafri File:רשרש4.jpg|Close-up of the statue's representation of Avraham Adan, the man on the pole </gallery>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Ink Flag}} *[http://www.pmo.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/E9A0D47C-7964-4857-B8AC-613046B01D84/0/eilateng.doc Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Speech on Eilat Day - 56 Years Since the Raising of the Ink Flag, March 20th, 2005]
Category:1948 Arab–Israeli War Category:1949 in Israel Category:Eilat in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Category:Israel National Heritage Site Category:Black-and-white photographs Category:Special events flags Category:War photographs Category:Flags in art Category:1949 in art Category:1949 photographs Category:Flags of Israel Category:Flags introduced in 1949 Category:Inks Category:Photography in Israel