Symbols of the State of Israel


The official emblem of the State, which was adopted in 1949, is the menorah, or candelabra. This is the ancient symbol of the Jewish people, and this is the form seen in the relief of the Arch of Titus in Rome. The menorah is surrounded by two olive branches, linked at the bottom by the inscription "Israel" in Hebrew. The olive braaches represent the ancient yearning of the Jewish people for peace. The olive branch itself has been synonymous with peace since a dove seeking dry land brought one back to Noah's Ark (Genesis 8:11).

The Flag of Israel

In October 1948, the provisional Council of the State adopted the blue and white colors with the Shield of David as the Flag of Israel. This flag was unfurled on May 11, 1949, at Lake Success in New York, when Israel became the 59th member of the United Nations. Origin--The design of the flag of Israel is the same flag which was used at the First Zionist Congress, held in Basel in 1897. A major role in designing this flag was played by David Wolfsohn, distinguished Zionist leader, who succeeded Theodor Herzl as president of the World Zionist Organization in 1905. Here is Wolfsohn's own account of the birth of the Zionist flag:

"At the behest of our leader Herzl, I came to Basel to make preparations for the Zionist Congress, to assure its success and to avoid any opening for detractors. Among the many problems that occupied me then was one which contained something of the essence of the Jewish problem: What flag would be hang in the Congree Hall? Then as ideal struck me. We have a flag - and it is blue and white. The tallit (prayer-shawl) which we wrap ourselves when we pray: that is out symbol. Let us take this tallit from its bag and unroll it before the eyes of all nations. So I ordered a blue and white flag with the Shield of David painted upon it. That is how our national flag, that flew over Congress Hall, came into being. And no one expressed any surprise or asked when it came, or how".

Colors--Yale Blue, in two horizontal stripes and the Shield of David; White, Background.

Specifications--The dimensions of the standard-size flag are 22 cm. By 160 cm. (or 88"x64"). The width is divisible as follows: Starting at the top, 15cm. (g") white background. The Shield of David, composed of two equilateral triangles, is located in the center of the flag and measures 69 cm. (27.6") from top to bottom.

Display in the U.S.A.--1. At public gatherings: On the left of congregation or audience, with U.S. flag on right, as audience faces platform, unless flags are displayed on platform itself, in which case the Israeli flag is displayed on speaker's left, U.S. flag on his right, as he faces the audience. 2. Height: When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from seperate staffs of equal height, and they should be about equal size. International useage forbids display of one nation's flag above another's in peacetime. 3. Crosses Staffs: U.S. flag on its own right, it staff in front of that of the Israeli flag. (Based on Public Law 827, Sec. 3 (d), (g), and (k).

Declaration of Israel's Independence

Hatikva: National Anthem of the State of Israel

Kol ode balevav P'nimah (In The Jewish heart A Jewish spirit still sings,)
Nefesh Yehudi homiyah (And the eyes look east Toward Zion)
Ulfa'atey mizrach kadimah Ayin l'tzion tzofiyah. (Our hope is not lost, Our hope of two thousand years,)
Ode lo avdah tikvatenu Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim: (To be a free nation in our land,)
L'hiyot am chofshi b'artzenu - Eretz Tzion v'Yerushalayim (In the land of Zion and Jerusalem)

The music to Hatikva can be heard and more can be read about the song at The Jewish Virtal Library

Currency

Israel's currency, the shekel, was known as early as the third millennium BCE as a unit of weight for means of payment in gold and silver. It is recoreded in the Bible that Abraham negotiated the purchase of a field and cave at Machpela (near Hebron) for "four hundred shekels of silver."

The biblical shekel was first re-introduced in the late 19th century. In 1897, the First Zionist Congress uwed the shekel to denote the fee for Zionist membership. Itsprice was fixed at 1 franc, 1 mark, 1 Austrian crown, 2 Shillings, half a dollar, 40 kopeks, etc. The shekel also served as a voting certificate for elections to the World Zionist Congress. Until the 25th Congress (1960), the number of delegrates allocated to a certain country was calculated by its total number of shekel holders.

In 1970, the Israeli Knesset instituted the shekel as the Israel's monetary unit. In 1985, the Israeli Shekel (IS) was replaced by the New Israeli Skekel (NIS). This moved was part of a government stabilization plan which helped reduce Israel's inflation rate. Like the dollar, the New Israeli Shekel is divided into 100 smaller units, called agorot.

Language of Israel

The revival of Hebrew--Hebrew is one of the official languages of the State of Israel. Hebrew's present vitality is remarkable when one observed that one a century ago it was considered dead as a spoken language. Although it has been used by Jews continually since Biblical times, by the late 19th century Hebrew was mainly a language of study and prayer.

The revival of Hebrew began with the arrival of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda in Palestine in 1881. Ben-Yehuda pioneered the usade of Hebrew in schools and homes, established a Hebrew language periodical (1884), and co-founded the Committee for the Hebrew Language (1890), which became responsible for coining new words and adapting the language to modern reality. He spent later years compiling the first comprehensive dictionary of modern Hebrew, whose 17 volumes were completed by his second wife, Hemda, and son in 1959, serveral years after his death.

Today, Hebrew is used effectively in all forms of personal and mass communication: the economy, the army, science, education, commerce, sports, and other spheres. The strongest case for its success may be in the arts, where Hebrew writers have been awarded the Nobel Prize and Hebrew prose and poetry in translated into over twenty different languages.

The Arabic Language--Arabic is another official language of the State of ISrael. It serves as the primary spoken language for the over one million Arab and Druze citizens of Israel, and is the language of instruction in many schools. Arabic is also taught as a second language to Hebrew-speaking students.

Originally spoken by the nomadic tribes of northwestern and central Arabia, Arabic became the religious language of Islam. Its religious and educational tradition accompanied the spread of Islam throughout the Middle Easr and North Afric, and deeply influenced the languages of all peoples who embraced Islam. Arabic is a Semitic language, like Hebrew, written from right to left.

A unique characteristic of Arabic societies is the existence of two types of Arabic languages: conversational Arabic and written Arabic. Written Arabic serves as the official language of these societies and is used in education, literature, and formal settings. Native speakers first learn conversational Arabic, and according to their level of education, study written Arabic as a second language. Arabic is one of the world's most widely used languages, in both forms, with numerous dialects and over 250 millions speakers.

More about Hebrew and its alphabet can be found at Judaism 101 and more about Arabic and its alphabet can be found at Arabic2002.com
Information taken from "Symbols of the State of Israel" published by The Embassy of Israel Department of Public Affairs
For more information see, The Ministery of Foreign Affairs website, The Jewish Virtual Library