The photo attached in this blog was taken on a visit I made to the Rishon Le-Zion Museum some years ago.
The exhibition portrays the history of the first blue and white Israeli flag, which was created and raised in Rishon Le-Zion during its third anniversary, on July 27, 1885.
The color blue is described as “dark sky blue”. The blue stripes are intended to symbolize the stripes of a tallit, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl. In Judaism, the color blue symbolizes God’s glory, purity, and gevurah (the severity of God). The color white represents Chesed (Divine Benevolence).
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as Magen David (Shield of David), is a distinctive symbol for Judaism and Israel.
There are several studies and debates about the origin of this symbol with different opinions among religious, mystics and philosophers, without a definitive conclusion about it.
According to the Zohar, a mystical book related to the Kabala, the six points of the star represent the masculine sefirot (attributes of God), in union with the seventh feminine sefirah (the center of the form).
The philosopher Franz Rosenzweig presented a more modern existentialist commentary on the Star of David in The Star of Redemption, which he wrote on postcards during the First World War. Rosenzweig described two interlocking triangles: the corners of one represented creation, revelation, and redemption; the corners of the other represent Man, the World and God.
It is known that in the 17th century, the Jewish quarter of Vienna was marked with a hexagram, two triangles superimposed on each other to distinguish it from the rest of the city. The star then became part of the architectural design of synagogues in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
The Zionist movement adopted the star in 1897. The Nazis then used the star to mark Jews during their persecution. After the Holocaust, the star was incorporated into the flag of the nascent State of Israel.
Once a tourist I was guiding in Jerusalem asked me why there are so many Israeli flags everywhere? And I thought it was an excellent question. All countries have their flags waving without problems anywhere in the world. The flag of Israel is banned in almost all Arab and Muslim countries and is used to burn by radical Islamic groups or is sometimes used as a rug to be walked on by Islamic leaders and terrorist organizations that hate Israel at their events. In Iran these habits are very common and the government encourages them.
On many occasions, a Jew or non-Jew in public spaces in Europe or the United States that in theory represent the “free and democratic world” has to know whether or not it is convenient to hide a chain around the neck that has the Star of David because they never know if any person can attack or assault them.
The Magen David Adom (“Red Star of David” or, literally translated, “Red Shield of David”) is Israel’s official emergency medical, disaster and ambulance service. It has been an official member of the International Committee of the Red Cross since June 2006. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Magen David Adom had been boycotted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which refused to grant membership to the organization because “It was argued that having an emblem used by a single country was contrary to the principles of universality.” Other commentators said that the ICRC did not recognize the medical and humanitarian use of this Jewish symbol, a Red Shield, alongside the Christian cross and Muslim crescent.
This discrimination against the Israeli flag occurred in sports, cultural, scientific, etc. in many parts of the world despite our enormous contribution to the world in diverse areas such as: science, technology, art, philosophy, medicine, health, culture, religion, innovation, water treatment, sociology, literature, psychology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, law, social rights, languages, history, archaeology, politics, theater, cinema, humanities, business, commerce, entertainment, through thousands of years.
Ultimately, the flag of Israel represents our sovereignty, our state, our independence, our land, our freedom, our home, and above all our existence, which is why we raise it with great pride and much love.
Author
Adiel Wajsman
Licensed Tour Guide
December 24, 2023