![]() When the Congress was held, a very similar design was brought by Morris Harris, a member of New York Hovevei Zion, who made a banner with materials from his awning shop and the help of his mother. That is how the national flag, that flew over Congress Hall, came into being. So I ordered a blue and white flag with the Shield of David painted upon it. Let us take this Talith from its bag and unroll it before the eyes of Israel and the eyes of all nations. The talith (prayer shawl) with which we wrap ourselves when we pray: that is our symbol. What flag would we hang in the Congress Hall? Then an idea struck me. ![]() Among many other problems that occupied me then was one that contained something of the essence of the Jewish problem. Seeing that Herzl’s proposal was gaining little traction, David Wolffsohn (1856–1914), a Lithuanian businessman and second president of the Zionist Organization, wrote:Īt the behest of our leader Herzl, I came to Basle to make preparations for the Zionist Congress. white field seven golden stars.” Six of those stars are in formation in the center of the flag, forming together a larger star – the Star of David.Īs the Zionist movement grew, so did the need for its own symbols and identity. The flag proposed by Herzl featured a clear Star of David, but he did not describe it in those terms. Although he drew a Star of David, he did not describe it as such. Herzl’s proposed flag, as sketched in his diaries. Together, these stars were meant to recall the seven-hour work day Herzl wrote about in his publication “The Jewish State.” In addition, a lion featured in the middle of the Star of David. This version had the single stripes which appear on the Israeli flag, but had a number of differences – six small stars featured at each corner of the Star of David, with another star directly above it. Six years later, ahead of the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, the Zionist Flag was created at the behest of David Wolfson, who served as Theodor Herzl‘s deputy. Related reading: Hatikvah: The Lyrics, Meaning and History of Israel’s National Anthem His variant is very similar to the contemporary design, with a blue Star of David featuring in the center, but unlike the single blue stripes along the top and bottom of the Israeli flag, his design had two above and two below the Star of David. The first such flag recorded was created by Israel Belkind, the founder of the Zionist Bilu movement, who escaped after a wave of pogroms and antisemitic laws in Czarist Russia. Toward the end of the 19th century, numerous Jewish organizations adopted flags featuring the colors blue and white, together with six-sided stars, pairs of stripes, and other features such as words like Zion and Maccabee. From The Zionist Flag to the Flag of Israel ![]() Rather than accept the government’s proposal, the Provisional Council of State rejected it and proceeded to assemble a separate committee of its own to come up with the designs of both the emblem and flag of Israel.Īfter consulting representatives of Diaspora Jewish communities, the committee decided on Jto adopt the Zionist flag as the State of Israel’s official flag. Just over a month after announcing the competition, on July 11 1948, the government selected a design by the graphic artist Otto Wallisch, consisting of two blue stripes, and between them, a white stripe adorned with seven stars of David in “whitish gold (or yellow).” After going through the various entries, the committee drew up a shortlist of two proposals to be formally adopted as the official flag of Israel. The contest attracted widespread attention, and the Emblem and Flag Committee received numerous suggestions from citizens from all sectors of the population. The announcement stipulated that the Israeli flag’s colors must be “light blue and white,” with “a Star of David or seven stars (in gold or some other color)” in the middle. On June 8th, 1948 Israel’s Provisional Government published a newspaper announcement to invite citizens to submit proposals for the nascent state’s emblem and flag. Such was the atmosphere at the time – a war was ongoing and there were more pressing tasks to attend to than the design of the flag of the newly-founded Israel. In reality, the Israeli flag was only adopted on 28th October 1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel.
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