Marom Milberger, owner of a factory that produces flags and masts, has been very difficult to catch in recent months.
"An order came in just now for 2,000 torches for a demonstration," he texts me when I try to call him. "Usually we sell torches for Hanukkah or for youth movements, and suddenly we're now selling quantities many times larger than usual for the demonstrations."
Thanks to the protests against the government's judicial reform legislation, Independence Day began two months early for Milberger, and the orders for flags doubled compared to corresponding months in previous years. "I would call it a revolution for the national flag," he says.
"If in the past, the right appropriated the flag, and it was as if the right-wing people and the guys with the knitted kippas identified more with the flag, then now - and we are very happy about it - it has returned to being the flag of the entire country, a flag that symbolizes Israeli pride and freedom."
When did the flood of orders start?
"First of all, it started with orders from the "Brothers in Arms" organization. We created flags for them with their specific logo," Milberger said. "Then we made them flags of the troops for the officers' protest and their marches to Jerusalem. Regarding the Israeli flags, some of the protesters of the various organizational groups initially bought flags from importers because it was cheaper."
"I understand the economic consideration but still I was very angry about it, because if you are already buying, then why not flags that are produced in Israel? But still, there were certain groups that made sure to buy flags that are made in Israel, and we also donated a large number of flags."
Milberger continued: "Then what happened was that the imported flags ran out and everyone started contacting me. Independence Day was brought forward by a few months. The sewing workshop worked almost around the clock, even without the large order of torches. But even working around the clock, I was in a situation where we were not able to produce the number of orders that arrived, and we had to refuse a lot of orders."
Forty years of flag making
70-year-old Marom Milberger started making flags in 1983. "I was originally a stage person, my main profession is pantomime," he says. "When I was young and beautiful, I would perform on stage on Purim and on Independence Day. That's how I was exposed to the various decorations, including flags, and I also made connections with municipalities. I recognized the need to produce flags and started with a small workshop in south Tel Aviv."
His factory, Marom FGP, is considered one of the largest in Israel for the production of flags and masts. The largest flag they ever made measured 38 by 62 meters. This flag, according to Milberger, was sent to the US, to an Israeli-American patriot. Now, for Independence Day, large flags with the Declaration of Independence printed on them have also been ordered from him from all kinds of organizations.
"I also sell a reproduction of the Declaration of Independence that comes in a cylinder box or framed," he adds. "The reproduction is done by Shuki Cook Studio, and we print. There is an increase of thousands of percent in the reproduction orders."
Interestingly, Milberger continues, "every year the orders for the May 1st flags, the red flags for Labor Day, used to decrease," Milberger told. "But this year we are already seeing an increase in interest and also orders for some of the demonstrations. In addition to this, invitations for US flags have also started arriving for the demonstrations in support of the US President's response regarding the reform policy in Israel."
Despite the freeze of the judicial reform legislation and the talks between the representatives of the coalition and the opposition on the subject, Marom Milberger claims that, according to the orders he has been receiving, the spirit has not yet calmed down. "As a patriot, I want the situation to calm down," he says. "I am also involved in the field of mediation and serve as the vice-chairman of the Chamber of Mediators in Israel, so my mindset is to mediate. As a business owner, of course, the demonstrations did and do me good, but I give up this good for the sake of unity."