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The 'flag of Israel' was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the country's establishment. It depicts a blue Star of David on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes. The blue color is mandated only as "dark sky-blue",Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs publication The Flag and the Emblem by art historian Alec Mishory, wherein he quotes "The Provisional Council of State Proclamation of the Flag of the State of Israel" made on October 28, 1948 by Joseph Sprinzak, Speaker. and varies from flag to flag, ranging from a hue of pure blue, sometimes shaded almost as dark as navy blue, to hues about 75% toward pure cyan and shades as light as very light blue.^[1] The flag was designed for the Zionist Movement in 1891. The basic design recalls the ''Tallit'', the Jewish prayer shawl, which is white with blue stripes. The hexagram in the centre is the ''Magen David'' ("shield of David"). It became a Jewish symbol starting in late medieval Prague, and was adopted by the First Zionist Congress in 1897.

Contents

Origin of the flag

Flag gallery

"Nile to Euphrates" controversy

Reference in the Nuremberg Laws

See also

References

External link

Origin of the flag

The flag of the State of Israel is intended to portray a Star of David on a tallit, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl.
The Israelites used an indigo colored dye called ''tekhelet''; this dye is now believed to have been made from the snail ''Murex trunculus''. This dye was very important in both Jewish and non-Jewish cultures of this time, and was used by royalty and the upper class in dyeing their clothing, sheets, curtains, etc. (The dye from a related snail can be processed to form Tyrian purple called ''argaman''.)
In the Torah, the Israelites are commanded to dye one of the threads of their tallit (prayer shawl) with ''tekhelet''; when they look at this dye they will think of the blue sky, and of the God above them in Heaven. Tekhelet corresponds to the color of the divine revelation (Midrash Numbers Rabbah xv.). Sometime near the end of the Talmudic era (500-600 CE) the industry that produced this dye collapsed. It became more rare; over time, the Jewish community lost the tradition of which species of shellfish produced this dye. Since Jews were then unable to fulfil this commandment, they have since left their tzitzit (tallit strings) white. However, in remembrance of the commandment to use the tekhelet dye, it became common for Jews to have blue or purple stripes on their tallit. ^[2]
The idea that the blue and white colors were the national color of the Jewish people was voiced early on by Ludwig August Frankl (1810-1894), an Austrian Jewish poet. In his poem, "Judah's Colors", he writes:
In 1885 the agricultural village of Rishon LeZion used a blue and white flag to mark its third anniversary. A blue and white flag, with a Star of David and the Hebrew word "Maccabee", was used in 1891 by the Bnai Zion Educational Society.
David Wolffsohn (1856-1914), a businessman prominent in the early Zionist movement, was aware that the nascent Zionist movement had no official flag, and that the design proposed by Theodore Herzl was gaining no significant support. He writes:
While this flag emphasizes Jewish religious symbols, Theodor Herzl wanted the flag to have more universal symbols: 7 golden stars symbolizing the 7-hour working quota of the enlightened state-to-be, which would have advanced socialist legislations. ^[3]
In 1897, an international meeting of worldwide Zionists was held in Basel, Switzerland, to consider establishing a homeland for Jews in Palestine. Morris Harris, a member of New York Havevy Zion, used his awning shop to design a suitable banner and decorations for the reception, and his mother Lena Harris sewed the flag. The flag was made with two blue striped and a large blue Star of David in the center, the colors blue and white chosen from the design of the tallis, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl. The flag was ten feet by six feet—in the same proportions as the flag of the United States—and became known as the 'Flag of Zion'. It was accepted as the official Zionist flag at the second international conference on Zionism held in Switzerland in 1898, and the state of Israel later adopted the design as the official flag, upon its independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.
According to a 1911 edition of the Jewish Encyclopedia, a flag with blue and white stripes and a Magen David in the center flew with those of other nationalities from one of the buildings at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. ^[4] It implied that it flew there in relation to large meetings of Zionists. That expo was the World's Fair hosting the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Flag gallery

"Nile to Euphrates" controversy

A traditional tallit with the blue stripes

It has been alleged by some groups that the blue stripes on the Israeli flag actually represent the rivers Nile and Euphrates, which some Zionist thinkers (such as Avraham Stern and Israel Eldad) had claimed as the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael, the land promised to the Jews by God. ^[5] Those making this allegation insist that the flag "secretly" represents the desire of Jews to conquer all of the land between the Nile and Euphrates rivers, which would involve conquering and ruling over much of Egypt, all of Jordan, and some of Syria and Iraq. Yasser Arafat, Iran and Hamas also made the allegation, ^[6] and repeatedly tied
this notion to the stripes on the Israeli flag. ^[7] Rubinstein, Danny. Inflammatory legends, ''Haaretz'', November 15, 2004. Accessed April 3, 2006.
Both Zionist and anti-Zionist authors have debunked the claim that the stripes on the flag represent territorial ambitions. Daniel Pipes notes "In fact, the blue lines derive from the design on the traditional Jewish prayer shawl", ^[8] and Danny Rubinstein points out that "...Arafat... added, in interviews that he gave in the past, that the two blue stripes on the Israeli flag represent the Nile and the Euphrates... No Israeli, even those who demonstrate understanding for Palestinian distress, will accept the... nonsense about the blue stripes on the flag, which was designed according to the colors of the traditional tallit (prayer shawl)..." Persistent critic of Israel and Zionism Israel Shahak is equally explicit. In his ''The Zionist Plan for the Middle East'' he states
Saqr Abu Fakhr, an Arab writer, has also spoken out against this idea. He demonstrates that the "Nile to Euphrates" claim regarding the flag is one of seven popular misconceptions and/or myths about Jews which, despite being unfounded and having abundant evidence refuting them, continue to circulate in the Arab world. ^[9]
Nevertheless, the states "After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates," and as recently as January 29, 2006, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar issued a demand for Israel to change its flag, citing the "Nile to Euphrates" argument. ^[10]

Reference in the Nuremberg Laws

Paragraph 4 in "The Laws for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour", part of the infamous Nazi Nuremberg Laws of 1935, states that 1. "Jews are forbidden to display the Reich and national flag or the [German] national colors. 2. On the other hand, they are permitted to display the ''Jewish colors''. The exercise of this right is protected by the State." Paragraph 5.3 described the penalty for infringing "1": up to one year's imprisonment plus fine, or one of these. The "Jewish colors" referred to in this article were blue and white.^[11]

See also

★ Ink Flag (Israel)

★ Blue in Judaism

References

1. Varied examples; Flag ~75% toward cyan from pure blue full article:The Flag and the Emblem Accessed July 28, 2006.
2. Simmons, Rabbi Shraga. Tallit stripes, About.com's "Ask the Rabbi". Accessed April 3, 2006.
3. Sholem, G. "The Curious History of the Six Pointed Star; How the 'Magen David' Became the Jewish Symbol", ''Commentary'', 8 (1949) pp. 243-351.
4. Zionism article (section ''Wide Spread of Zionism'') by Richard Gottheil in the Jewish Encyclopedia, 1911
5. Genesis 18: "The Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying unto thy seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt [the Nile] unto the great river, the River Euphrates."
6. Playboy Interview: Yasir Arafat, ''Playboy Magazine'', September 1988.
ARAFAT: Yes, because they don't want it. Look at the slogans they use: that
the land of Israel is from the Euphrates to the Nile. This was written for many years over the entrance to the Knesset, the parliament. It shows their national ambition-they want to advance to the Jordan River. One Israel for them, what's left for us....
Do you know what the meaning of the Israeli flag is?

PLAYBOY: No.

ARAFAT: It is white with two blue lines. The two lines represent two rivers, and in between is Israel. The rivers are the Nile and the Euphrates.
7. Rubin, Barry. The PLO between Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism, Background and Recent Developments, The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1993. Accessed Apr 3, 2006.
8. Pipes, Daniel. Imperial Israel: The Nile-to-Euphrates Calumny, ''Middle East Quarterly'', March, 1994. Accessed April 3, 2006.
9. Abu Fakhr, Saqr. "Seven Prejudices about the Jews", ''Al-Hayat'', November 12,13,14, 1997.
10. Shiloh, Scott. Mofaz: Hamas Acting Responsibly; Hamas: Israel Must Change Flag, ''Arutz Sheva'', January 30, 2006. Accessed April 3, 2006.
11. J. Boas: ''German-Jewish Internal Politics under Hitler 1933-1938'', in: Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook, 1984, pp. 3-25. (Available online)

External link

★ The Israeli Flag (Jewish Virtual Library)