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Israel's National Flag was officially
proclaimed on 28th, October 1948 (25
Tishre 5709) by the Speaker of the
Provisional Council of State. It was to be 220 cm
long and 160 cm in width. On a white background
were to be 2 parallel dark sky-blue stripes, each
25 cm wide, with the star of David, composed of
two intersecting and opposite equilateral triangles
located between them in the center of the flag.
The design of the Israel flag is the same as that of the Zionist flag, used at the first Zionist Congress held in Basle. It was David Wolfsohn, the first distinguished Zionist leader, who. had the idea of basing the Zionist flag on the tallit (prayer shawl worn by Jews during prayer). After the Congress, the flag became accepted by Jewish communities throughout the world as the emblem of Zionism and it seemed the natural choice of flag for the new State, although there were, of course, many other proposals, which after great consideration, were dismissed.
The blue and white stripes indicating a life of purity guided by the precepts of the Torah, and the Star of David, which symbolizes rebirth and new life for the Jewish people, tie the State of Israel through its flag, to both its past and its future. This is evidently why the Zionist flag prevailed over the political considerations that had prompted the leaders of the new state to propose substitutes for it.
