Swastika flag on P.E.I. property upsets neighbours, Jewish community

A flag emblazoned with a swastika flying over a yard in Charlottetown has been removed.

After receiving complaints about the flag from people who'd seen it, CBC News contacted someone living on the property. However CBC was not able to contact the person who raised it. 

The flag, which had been up for several days, was still flying midday Friday, but by late afternoon it had been taken down and replaced with a P.E.I. flag.

Earlier in the day CBC talked to neighbours and representatives of the Jewish community.

"The fact that that flag is flying, fluttering in the winds that blow across this big democratic country of ours is repulsive," said David Mol, who lives in the community and could see the flag from his property.

The flag was mounted on a tall pole and visible from the road.

The swastika is recognized as a symbol of the Nazi regime that murdered six million Jews.  

It's a symbol of hate. There's not one good thing that that symbol stands for.— David Mol

Mol's parents were Dutch and came to Canada after fleeing the Nazis in the Second World War.

"It's a symbol of hate. There's not one good thing that that symbol stands for," he said.

"I understand it's not against the law, but it's against the Island philosophy. I don't think that's the kind of place that we want to live in," said Leo Mednick, president of the P.E.I. Jewish Community.

"Some people may not understand the effect it has on people who've been through the Holocaust or had family members who passed away there," said Mednick.

Symbols like the swastika are used "as a dagger to hurt people, to upset people," he said.

Charlottetown police said the flag is not illegal. Police said they planned to speak to the property owner and ask them to take down the flag voluntarily.

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