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Comments (0)The Israeli flag hangs in most synagogues and Jewish day schools. We wave it on Israel Independence Day and use its blue-and-white color scheme on many of our Jewish decorations.
The flag, inspired by the tallit (or prayer shawl), consists of two horizontal blue stripes on the top and bottom of a white background with a Star of David (Magen David) in the center.
According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the design was first displayed in the Israeli city of Rishon LeTzion in 1885. It also was used in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897 during the First Zionist Congress.
The flag was officially adopted by the State of Israel on Oct. 28, 1948, a few months after the founding of the Jewish state.
The exact shade of blue is not important; it usually ranges from regular blue to dark blue, sometimes referred to as “Yale blue.”
The Israeli national anthem is called the Hatikvah, which means “The Hope.” According to State of Israel.com , it was written in 1886 by Naphtali Herz Imber, an English poet originally from Bohemia. The melody was written by Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia. Cohen actually based the melody on a musical theme found in Bedrich Smetana’s “Moldau.”
— Maayan Jaffe