The Flags Outside a Major Pro-Israel Conference That Had Participants ‘Horrified’

Every year when members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee gather for their annual policy conference in Washington, D.C., supporters of the Palestinian cause are outside protesting. But this weekend, as pro-Israel participants gathered for the meeting, yellow Hezbollah flags were spotted in the hands of two anti-Israel protesters.

The sighting was posted on YouTube by Jewish news site the Algemeiner and also noted Monday on an Iranian and Lebanese website.

Hezbollah is designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist group.

The Algemeiner reported that a small group of protesters were waving Palestinian flags and holding up signs criticizing Israel outside the venue which was protected by police, but that “AIPAC delegates said they were horrified to see the Hezbollah flag, which is a rare sight.”

Image source: YouTube

The Algemeiner reported that the men carrying the flags — one wearing a hoodie and the other a Middle Eastern keffiyeh headscarf — were American. TheBlaze cannot independently confirm the citizenship of the two.

One of the men holding the Hezbollah flag said: “Well you know, it’s the only real answer that Israel understands.”

Besides the scores of attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets, Hezbollah has a long history of attacking Americans, including the bombing of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon during the 1980s.

“Before Al Qaeda’s attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was responsible for killing more Americans in terrorist attacks than any other terrorist group,” State Department counterterrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin said in 2012.

Hezbollah militants are currently fighting alongside the Syrian army defending President Bashar Assad’s rule.

In its coverage of the story, the English news site of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting called Hezbollah “the Lebanese anti-terrorist movement.”

Iran is a key backer of the Shiite movement, including providing it with weapons and training.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech to the AIPAC conference while in Washington this week.

Here's the video that the Algemeiner posted on YouTube: