September 23, 2005
Two Jewish members of the US Congress are supporting proposals for a neutral emergency symbol in addition to the red cross and red crescent. Representatives Gary Ackerman and Henry Waxman, both Democrats, are currently looking for signatories among their colleagues for a letter urging the Swiss government to allow the use of a third symbol. They say that the proposal for a neutral red diamond would allow Israel’s Magen David Adom, and other agencies that reject the cross and crescent for religious reasons, to obtain protections guaranteed by the Geneva Convention to bearers of those symbols.
In the draft letter to the Swiss embassy in Washington, Switzerland is being urged to resist those who oppose plans to reconvene the parties to the Geneva Convention, a power reserved to Switzerland. The letter says that opponents of the red diamond scheme want to postpone such an arrangement until the Israeli-Palestinian issue is resolved. The convention defines attacks on individuals and vehicles carrying the designated symbols as war crimes. Muslim nations have defeated attempts to accept the red star of David used by Israel’s emergency services.
Read about the WJC's campaign for recognition for Magen David Adom
