Lebanese Phalanx (Lebanon)

Kataeb, Phalanges Libanaises, flag reported as 'Lebanon Christians'

Last modified: 2002-11-16 by santiago dotor
Keywords: lebanese phalanx | phalanx | kataeb | phalanges libanaises | cedar | tree: cedar | christian | maronite | black panthers |
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2:3
by Ivan Sache

• Introduction
• Description
• Flag Variant, possibly mistaken
• Black Panthers (mistakenly reported as 'Phalanx party')

See also:

• Political Parties (Lebanon)
• Lebanon

This is the party of the Jamail [Gemayel] family and has a rich history, so its flag may have changed during the ages. The Christians had two parties, the Jamail family one and the Chamoun family one (Ahrar).

Dov Gutterman, 11 May 1999

The Phalanx party is the same thing as Kataeb —which is Arabic for phalanx— or as they are most commonly called the Phalange.

John Kennedy, 6 August 2001

In the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart appears "30. Lebanon Christians". White field with a schematic cedar (one green triangle over two green trapezes over a brown trapeze). The schematic cedar is similar to those used by the Kataeb Phalangist Party. It looks rather like a party logo-flag.

Ivan Sache, 13 September 1999

This flag is the Lebanese Kataeb one, according to the Kataeb Toronto website (image here) and the Kataeb Sweden website (images here and here, photograph here).

Santiago Dotor, 11 November 2002

by António Martins

The flag of the Kataeb Phalanges Libanaises from the Kataeb Party [broken link] website. The Kataeb is a Christian party.

Dov Gutterman, 15 March 1999 and 11 May 1999

At the Kataeb Party website [broken link] there is a stylized cedar (top green, bottom purplish), surrounded by Arabic texts. I have downloaded it and fooled around, with striking results: white easily becomes black, blue becomes green, yellow, etc. On that page it is green on white. Clicking on it leads to a page with this picture [broken link] of Pierre Gemayel and in the background a white flag with a stylized green cedar. The flag above is a combination of the Lebanese flag and the Kataeb flag, with the Kataeb flag in wrong colours.

Jarig Bakker, 6 October 1999

Mistakenly reported as 'Phalanx party'

by Ivan Sache

Smith 1975, pp. 340-341 ("Symbols in politics") shows "Phalanx (Lebanon): White field charged with a black stylized cedar".

Ivan Sache, 6 August 1999

I never saw the flag mentioned in Smith 1975, but Kataeb might have a military flag.

Dov Gutterman, 31 August 2001

The so-called Phalanx party [flag] is in fact the flag of the Maronite militia called Black Panthers.

Jaume Ollé, 31 August 2001