Israel wants own emblem for Red Cross

The Israelis are reminded of the Crusaders by the original symbol.
GENEVA (AP) -- Years of campaigning is on the verge of bringing the Israelis and Palestinians into the Red Cross humanitarian movement thanks to a pending solution to bridge long-standing sensitivities over Crusaders, crosses and crescents.
The two-day International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, opening Tuesday, is being asked to approve changes to meet Israeli demands of almost six decades that it be granted full membership without using the cross or crescent to identify itself.
At the center of the plan is the addition of a third, neutral emblem -- a blank, red-bordered square standing on one corner -- that could stand alone or frame the Red Shield of David of the Israeli rescue society Magen David Adom.
The emblem -- dubbed the "red crystal" -- was approved over Muslim objections in a hard-fought diplomatic conference in December. But that was only the first step, and the conference has been called to complete the job.
The simple red cross on a white background -- the reversal of colors of the Swiss flag -- was adopted as the emblem of the movement when it was founded in 1863 after Swiss humanitarian Henry Dunant was horrified by the carnage and unattended casualties he saw during a one-day battle between Austrian and Franco-Sardinian forces on June 24, 1859, at Solferino, Italy.
Historical tensions
But the symbol unintentionally reminded Muslims of the Christian Crusaders, and they insisted on their own red crescent in the 19th century.
When Israel's society bid for membership in 1949, it objected to using either the cross or crescent, and the Red Cross movement refused to admit yet another emblem.
The society and its friends, including the American Red Cross, have been campaigning for years to find a way out of the stalemate.
While there has been some interest outside the Middle East in the new emblem, it was designed primarily to meet Israel's objections.
Israel's military will be able to use the crystal by itself on a white flag as an emblem protecting medics and other humanitarian workers helping war casualties.
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