A former South African MP and UK independent candidate is urging anti-Israel activists to turn poppy pins into Palestinian flags during November when Canada and its allies honour their veterans.
Author Andrew Feinstein urged his followers on X to take “online action (to) make” poppies in the “colours of the Palestine flag” and to wear them during Remembrance Month.
The post was hit with a community note on X, noting that the image of the poppy has been a trademark of the Royal Canadian Legion since 1948 and, as such, “should not be co-opted for other groups without the consent of the Legion.”
According to the RCL’s website, the organization has trademarked the symbol to “safeguard the poppy insignia as a symbol of remembrance.”
“The Legion has been entrusted with the significant task of safeguarding the sacred poppy, protecting it from misuse and commercialization. Our Canadian Veterans bravely accepted the duty and responsibility to protect our rights and freedom; it is now we who must accept the duty and responsibility to protect and honour them,” The Legions Poppy Manual states. “Through the collective efforts of all Legion Members, we will ensure that the poppy remains the symbol of remembrance for their sacrifices.”
The National Spokesperson for the RCL told True North that because Feinstein’s call to action was made in the UK, the Legion has contacted its British counterparts to “see if they can have it removed.”
The Royal British Legion did not respond to True North’s requests for comment before the deadline provided.
Since 1921, the poppy has stood as a symbol of remembrance for those who have served and sacrificed their lives for Canada or its allies.
According to the Legion’s website, the Legion ensures that the remembrance poppy is not used to “commercialize, politicize or dishonour those who served.”
It says that the poppy can never be used as a symbol of remembrance by an organization, group, community, or individual for political display without the written permission of the Dominion Command Poppy and Remembrance community.
“The unauthorized use of the poppy symbol by any command, branch, corporation, group or individual may result in litigation or sanction against the offending party,” the Legion Poppy Manual states.
Feinstein did not respond to True North’s requests to comment.
Users on X condemned Feinstein for his call to action.
One 20-year Canadian veteran who served in Afghanistan, who goes by the name Prairie Veteran on X, blasted Feinstein in the comments.
“I lost brothers and sisters in combat in Afghanistan. How dare you desecrate their honour by posting this B***S***! This is our poppy. Not yours to dishonour,” he said.
X user Idan Levy noted that the Rochdale Cenotaph, the First World War memorial in North West England, was desecrated by anti-Israel vandals who wrote “Free Palestine” last year.
Some anti-Israel activists attempted to justify using the poppy as a pro-Palestinian symbol, arguing that the Palestinian national flower is a poppy.
According to the Palestinian Information Centre and the Palestine Wildlife Society, the Faqqua Iris, or Iris Haynei, not the poppy, is Palestine’s national symbol, as declared by the Palestinian Authority in 2016.
However, according to an article in the “Middle East Eye,” there is a poppy native to that region in the Middle East. The Palestinian people have used it in art for years, and it has recently been used as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
However, there is no history of Palestinian people wearing poppies as pins in November other than in recent protests. According to the “New Arab,” activists began wearing poppies in London, England on Remembrance Day last year.
White “peace” poppies have also been sold in support of a ceasefire in Gaza, though many online have also bemoaned their use, saying there sometimes cannot be peace without war.
