My question is: “Which
is more likely to move a bureaucracy, budget cuts or dead bodies?”
The question has meaning because the International Red Cross only recognizes a cross and a crescent as its symbols despite the long existence and extensive use of the Star of David by the Israeli red cross equivalent.
Next year the
International Red Cross is going to change its symbol to a red
rectangle at a 45 degree angle on a white background so as to
eliminate the dispute that has arisen.
The dispute became public six years ago when Libby Dole, President of the American Red Cross made it an issue and started to withhold U.S. contributions to the international body.
Since 2001 the
International Red Cross has been obligated to visit Moslems in many
POW camps and in Moslem areas. With the Red Cross symbol in conflict
with the Islamic view that the current world affairs are the 4th
Christian Crusade, Red Cross workers have been threatened and in a
few cases killed.
So why is the International Red Cross succumbing to pressure to change its symbol; Budget withholding or dead staffers?