The origins of the Israeli flag

In 1860, Jewish poet Ludwig August Frankl wrote: “When sublime feelings his heart fill, he is mantled in the colors of his country. He stands in prayer, wrapped in a sparkling robe of white. The hems of the white robe are crowned with broad stripes of blue; like the robe of the High Priest, adorned with bands of blue threads. These are the colors of the beloved country, blue and white are the colors of Judah; white is the radiance of the priesthood.”

The stirring words from "Judah’s Colors" came long before the State of Israel, but contain much of the sentiment behind the national flag and are believed to have provided much of the inspiration for it, according to Israeli historian Alec Mishory.

The first version of any flag associated with the Zionist movement was created by Jacob Askowith and his son Charles in 1891, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. The design was originally based on the traditional Jewish prayer shawl, known as a tallit, as described by Frankl.

With a white background and two blue stripes along the top and bottom, the original prototype of the flag featured a Star of David in the center, with the Hebrew letters spelling “Maccabee” inside the star. This design, sewed by Lena Harris from Boston, Massachusetts, was brought to the first international Zionist Congress in 1897 by Isaac Harris, a member of the Zionist group Hovevei Zion. However, Theodor Herzl had other ideas. 

Theodor Herzl, the visionary founder of modern political Zionism, played a crucial role in laying the groundwork for the establishment of the State of Israel. His diary from 1895 contains an alternative design with seven gold stars on a white background to represent the “seven working hours” of the day and the “new and pure life” of the Zionist movement.

Herzl was eventually persuaded to incorporate the Star of David into his design and this – along with the inscription “Aryeh Yehudah” (Lion of Judah) inside the star – became the first flag of the movement.

Mishory recorded that when Herzl’s design failed to garner a consensus, “Wolffsohn stood up and said: 'Why do we have to search? Here is our national flag.' Upon which he displayed his prayer shawl and showed everyone the national flag: a white field with blue stripes along the margin.” 

Eventually, the secular humanist emphasis on the concept of work gave way to the more spiritual symbolism of the prayer shawl, with the colors white and tekhelet blue, a color mentioned in the Bible. While some rabbis viewed tekhelet (a light blue) as a symbol of God's ways, the Bible itself states that the tassels on the tallit are meant to remind Israel of God’s commandments:

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.” (Numbers 15:37-40)

The Star of David was chosen as a symbol of unity among the Jewish people yet its origins remain somewhat mysterious.

Gershom Sholem, a scholar and expert on Kabbalah, presented his own ideas about the adoption of the star in his book, "The Curious History of the Six Pointed Star; How the 'Magen David' Became the Jewish Symbol" (1949).

The Star of David was not commonly used in Jewish circles until the 1700s and there is scant, if any, evidence of it being used at all before the Middle Ages. The flag of Israel, then, represents both the ancient and modern, as well as the biblical and cultural narrative of Israel's story, woven together as one.

After many months of debate – even after Israel had been established – the decision was settled and the design made official. The Provisional Council of State formally announced on Oct. 28, 1948:

After months of debate—even after Israel had already been established—the decision was finally settled, and the design was made official. On Oct. 28, 1948, the Provisional Council formally announced:

“The Provisional Council of State hereby proclaims that the flag of the State of Israel shall be as illustrated and described below: The flag is 220 cm. long and 160 cm. wide. The background is white and on it are two stripes of dark sky-blue, 25 cm. broad, over the whole length of the flag, at a distance of 15 cm. from the top and from the bottom of the flag. In the middle of the white background, between the two blue stripes and at equal distance from each stripe is a Star of David, composed of six dark sky-blue stripes, 5.5 cm. broad, which form two equilateral triangles, the bases of which are parallel to the two horizontal stripes.”