Tensions between City Council members, and between councilors and the mayor, played out over several days before the flag raising.

Providence isn’t the only American city to have flown the flag. Last November, the city hall of Hoboken, New Jersey also raised the Palestinian flag despite controversy. That same month, a Palestinian flag-raising ceremony at the city hall of Regina, a Canadian city, was abruptly cancelled.

A Palestinian flag was raised on Friday at City Hall, but the flag-raising ceremony turned tense as a crowd of several dozen pro-Israel protestors attempted to drown out the speeches by making loud noises,