How much do you really know about the official Israel Flag?

At first glance, it appears quite simple. A solid white background with blue stripes on either horizontal end and a hexagram in the center.

Israel Flag – A Brief History

The Flag of Israel was officially adopted on October 28, 1948; just five months after the establishment of the State of Israel. The flag was originally designed for the Zionist Movement on July 24, 1891 by Jacob Baruch Askowith and his son Charles, and originally was referred to as the ‘flag of Judah’. It was first presented at the dedication of the Zion Hall of the B’nai Zion Educational Society in Boston, Ma..

A Symbol of a Prosperous Nation

Israel Flag

Now, about the six sided star Hexagram.

The hexagram or six pointed star in the center of the Israeli Flag:

  • Referred to as the ‘Star of David’, Magen David, or Shield of David; its geometric shape is actually two interconnecting equilateral triangles.
  • A common symbol of the People of Israel that became a Jewish symbol starting in late medieval Prague.
  • Initially adopted by First Zionist Congress in 1897.

The blue horizontal stripes on each end of the Flag of Israel:

  • Basic design taken from the Jewish prayer shawl (Talit).
  • The sky blue color has numerous meanings; trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, but most importantly heaven.
  • Interestingly enough, there is no specific blue color definition; just sky blue.

The white background represents honesty, innocence, and peace.

Famous Israeli Flags

How about a flag over 6 football fields long and one field wide?

  • Well, in 2007, a record breaking Israeli flag was unfurled near Mount Masada measuring 660 Meters (2,170 feet) wide by 100 Meters (330 feet) high. Yes, it broke the world record for largest flag.
  • The Israeli flag that remained steadfast waving throughout the siege of Fort Budapest during the Yom Kippur War. This flag is currently preserved in the Israeli Armored Corps memorial at Latrun.
  • The Ink Flag – raised during the War of Independence in 1948 near Eilat, this homemade was raised on a pole by several Israeli soldiers and immortalized in a photograph that has been compared with the infamous photograph of the United States Flag that was raised on the island of Iwo Jima in 1944. As the famous Iwo Jima photo, the Ink Flag raising has also been reproduced as a memorial.

More about Israel from Israel Travel Secrets.

Degel Shel Yisrael (Israel Flag)
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