A Small Step In The Right Direction

[freetrav]

Earlier this week, the international Red Cross organization accepted, by vote rather than the more usual consensus, a fourth symbol to be designated as protected/protective: the Red Crystal, described in heraldese as "A lozenge gules voided". This, and the recognition/acceptance by Israel of the Palestinian Red Crescent as the official representative of the ICRC in the West Bank and Gaza, have removed the last ostensible obstacles to Israel's admission to the Federation. The area in the center of the new symbol may be used to display national symbols, but need not be so used; it is the Crystal itself that is protected.

While Israel has noted that this is an acceptable compromise, I believe that a better decision would have been to withdraw recognition of the other symbols at the same time, thus requiring that the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and the Red Lion-and-Sun all be placed within the Red Crystal to properly mark protected entities. As it is, there is a strong likelihood that the only use of the Red Crystal will ultimately end up being by Israel, and will probably be little more widely recognized than the Red Lion-and-Sun is today.