An Aerial view of a large Israeli flag after it was laid on the ground at the Masada airfield near the Dead Sea, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007.The massive blue and white flag, measuring 18,847 square meters - the size of two soccer fields - and weighing 5.2 metric tons, broke the record for the world's largest. It was measured by representatives for the Guinness Book of Records.
The record for the world's largest flag now belongs to an Israeli banner produced by a Filipino evangelical Christian.
The huge blue and white flag, measuring 2,165 feet long and 330 feet wide and weighing 5.7 tons, breaks the record for the world's largest, according to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
The flag was unfurled Sunday beneath the ancient Jewish desert fortress of Masada.
Representatives of the Guinness Book of Records measured the flag and later confirmed the record.
Filipino entrepreneur Grace Galindez-Gupana said she decided two years ago to produce a giant Israeli flag as a testament to her love for Israel and the Jewish people and as a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Israel.
"God spoke to me in thunder and lightning," Galindez-Gupana said. "The Lord said, 'Make the flag of Israel, the standard of my people.'"
"This is a tall order," she said, breaking down in tears.
The Israeli flag was accompanied by a giant Philippines flag — huge, but not quite as big. It weighed about 4.2 tons.
Large stones anchored both flags as they billowed in the desert winds.
There are about 31,000 Filipinos in Israel, most of whom are foreign workers, said Gilberto Asuque, consul general of the Philippine Embassy in Israel.
"This flag expresses the friendship between the Philippines and the state of Israel, and also the friendship between Jewish and Christian communities," said Shaul Zemach, director of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
Source : Associated Press & Photos by Sebastian Scheiner
