68—THE JEWISH NEWS
Israel's Badge of Honor
Friday, October 1, 1948
History of the Blue and White
Flag and Dr. Theodor Herzl's
Dream of a 7-Hour Working Day
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
ISRAEL'S FLAG will, in all probability, retain all
the features of the ensign that has been in use
for nearly half a century in Jewish communities
throughout the world: the white background with
blue stripes and the Magen David in the center.
The only possible exception to this design already
is in evidence in the Jewish State: the Magen
David. instead of being used in outline, is a solid
blue six-pointed Star of David
Some Israeli leaders, however, favor a change
and new insigna are being proposed for consids.ra-
tion by the Israeli State Council. Out of a total of
164 entries submitted recently by contestants who
designed flags for Israel, Israel's Foreign Minister
Moshe Shertok submitted for consideration one
design, 120 centimeters by 80, blue with a white
center stripe on which are to be emblazoned the
seven gold stars visualized by Dr. Theodor , Herzl
as symbolizing the seven-hour working day in the
Jewish State. State arms suggested in the pro-
posal are to be a blue shield, 100 centimeters by
85, with a yellow border and a 20-centimeter strip
bearing the seven gold stars at the top and a seven-
branched white candelabrum in the center, mount-
ed on a base of two layers. Mr. Shertok explain-
ing, upon submitting the design to the State Coun-
cil, that the Israeli emblem should be distinct
from the old Zionist Organization colors which
Diaspora Jewry, unable to fly the State of Israel
colors, would continue to use outside the borders
of Eretz Israel.
Some of the State Councillors already have
criticized the omission of the Star of David from
the proposed flag, and one suggestion was advanc-
ed that the seven gold stars be integrated into a
Magen David. The prevailing sentiments seem to
point to the retention of the old design.
*
*
labor. It is no wonder, therefore, that the seven
stars, symbolizing a seven-hour working day,
are becoming the symbol of labor-dominated
Israel.
The story of Israel's flag only begins at this
point. A great role was played in making the de-
sign by David Wolfsohn, the distinguished Zion-
ist leader who became the second president of the
World Zionist Organization and who was Dr.
Herzl's right hand man during the early years of
Zionist history. Wolfsohn's own explanation of
his part in the making of the Zionist emblem
was told in "Moledet", as follows:
*
T HE BACKGROUND of the Israeli—hitherto
Zionist—Flag is extremely interesting. Credit
for its design- dates back to an anniversary cele-
brating in the colony Rishon LeZion in 1885, 12
years before the First World Zionist Congress.
The late Dr. Israel Belkind, one of the most em-
in.ent early Eretz Israel pioneers, described the
making of the first flag in a letter to Zev Dubnov,
brother of the historian, Simeon Dubnov.
Claims also have been made by the descendants
of Jacob Baruch Askowith (1844-1908) , a devoted
Zionist, that he had designed a flag similar to the
one presently' in use, and displayed it on July
24, 1891.
Neither Dr. Herzl nor David Wolfsohn, his
successor to the presidency of the World Zionist
Organization, however, - knew anything about these
claims, and for historical records the history of
the present flag must begin with the Herzlian
statement, in "The Jewish State," in the fifth
chapter (entitled "Society of Jews and Jewish
State"), under the sub-title "The Flag:"
"We have no flag, and we need one. If we de-
sire to lead many men, we must raise a symbol above
their heads.
"I would suggest a white flag, with seven gold-
en stars. The white field symbolizes our pure life;
the stars are the seven golden hours of our working-
day. For we shall march into the Promised' Land
carrying the badge of honor."
Earlier in his history-making brochure "The
Jewish State," in the third chapter ("The Jewish
Company") , under the heading "The Seven Hour
Day", Dr. Herzl declared that he was "convinced
that it is quite possible to introduce this seven-hour
day with success." He outlined his plan in great
detail, encouraged thrift, declared that "overtime
will only be permitted on a doctor's certificate,"
emphasized that "pregnant women will be relieved
of all work."
The seven-hour working day was Herzl's
ideal and dream in 1895, in an era of long work-
ing days and exploitation of women and child
"At the behest of our leader Herzl, I came
Basle
to make all preparations for the Zionist
to
Congress, to assure its success and to avoid any
opening for detractors. Amongst the many prob-
lems that occupied me then was one which was
.neither important nor unimportant, but which
contained something of thi essence of the Jewish
problem. What flag should we hang in the Con-
gress Hall? For we had no flag. This difficulty
greatly vexed me. A flag must be created. But
what colors should we choose? Would our na-
tion make any distinction between colors, being
a people that is so careful never to feast its eyes
on any image or picture?
"Then an idea struck me. We have a flag,
and it is blue and white. The talith with which
we wrap ourselves when we ' pray—that is our
symbol. Let us take this talith from its bag and
unroll it before the eyes of Israel and 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 flies over
the Congress Hall, came into the world. And no
one expressed any surprise or asked whence it
came, or how."
DR. ISRAEL BELKIND, like Wolfsohn, used the
Talis as the basis for his design of a flag at
the third anniversary celebration of Rishon LeZion
in . 1885. The .story goes that Belkind was a§sisted
in designing the flag by Fannie Mayerowitz of Ri-
shon. In his letter to Dubnov, Belkind described
the joy with which the colonists marked the Ri-
shon LeZion anniversary and told how Ossip Os-
sevetzky, Baron Edmond de Rothschild's represen-
tative, rode on a donkey leading the marchers who
carried the Belkind-Mayerowitz-made flag. His
letter explained: "We took a white sheet, sewed
two blue stripes along the sides and a Mager t David
in the center—modeled after our Talis."
The claim of another Jewish flag design is
made by Dora Askowith who maintains that the
creation of her father, Jacob Baruch Askowith,
antedated the First World Zionist Congress by
six years. Miss Askowith states that her father's
design was almost identical with the Zionist flag
and that it was presented at the dedicttion of
Zion Hall, headquarters of Bnai Zion Educational
Society at 1'0 Hanover St., Boston, Mass. The
Askowith flag was of white cloth, one yard long,
with two horizontal blue stripes and a Shield of
David. In the center of the Magen David was the
Hebrew word Maccabee, painted in blue. This
flag was exhibited along with the flags of other
nations and was placed next to the Stars and
Stripes.
Miss Askowith, in an article in Jewish Social
Studies, wrote that a flag manufacturer made a
similar flag in slightly altered form and it was
carried in the Columbus Day parade in 1892 to
mark the 400th anniversary of the discovery of
America. The Only change was the substitution of
the word Zion for Maccabee.
*
ACOB de HAAS, in his biography of Herzl, re-
fers to another early Jewish flag-creator. To
quote de Haas: "Isidore S. Donn, a Russian Jewish
artist who resided in London, made the first flag
we ever saw. This was in 1893 in London. Donn
claimed to have originated it and stated that the
colors were based on Biblical authority and the
J
HOME TO ZION
stripes copied from the tallith (praying shawl)."
Thus, while conflicting claims are made as
to the origin of the Israeli flag, there at least is
agreement that the Tallith is the basis for the de-
sign.
From DeHaas' biography of Herzl we learn
about another ensign, that of the Chevevei Zion
(Lovers of Zion), a flag of 12 stars for the Twelve
Tribes of Israel. DeHaas quoted Col. A. E. M.
Goldsmid as having written, in March, 1897: "I had
the Chovevei Zion banner displayed at the lecture,
and naturally referred to the seven-starred banner
proposed by Dr. Herzl, and stated that I preferred
our flag to his, as it embraced the religious and
historical idea, whereas his introduced social ques-
tions about which there were differences of opin-
ion, and which had no historical association, and
was an imitation of the flags of American Re-
publics."
*
1946, referring to the ship "Anzio Sereni"
I N which
sailed to Eretz Israel from an Italian port
with 900 Jewish refugees, flying the blue-and-
white Jewish banner, British authorities referred
to the arrival of a ship flying a "flag of no known
nationality." In spite of the universal use of the
blue and white emblem by Jews everywhere,
and ignoring the fact that every Palestinian school
and office buildina was flying this flag, the British
authorities were b blind to reality. But in other
lands non-Jews were more humanly disposed. In
July, 1944, for example,. the Zionist flag was dis-
played in Ireland during "Salute to Soldiers
Week," and the blue and white banner was includ-
ed among the flags of the Allied powers in tribute
to Jewish participation in the war against Nazism.
The rebirth of the State of Israel and the rec-
ognition now being given to the Flag of Israel by
the nations of the world marks the fulfillment of
the dream of the great Hebrew poet, Saul Tcher-
nichowsky, who, in his poem, "0 Lift Zion's Ban-
ner," written in Odessa, Russia, in 1897, and re-
printed here in the translation by Prof. Israel
Abrahams, declared:
To Zion, to Zion! 0 lift up the banner!
March forward, with courage, ascend Volunteer!
Until the last breath let our hand never slacken,
So long we have blood and our veins are not sere.
Draw sword from the scabbard, both aged and
young!
Shall any be craven, succumb to his fears?
Our wives and our children go down to the gate,
And we—on to battle, my bold Pioneers!
This day, we are warriors, brothers-in-arms:
From Lebanon's slopes to the Isles of the Main,
The North—and Damascus—come life or come
death,
The Glory of Jacob has risen again.
0 lift Zion's banner, establish the Kingdom,
A Fane for our God, for the children a Tower,
One hand for the work, for the sanctified labor,
A sword in the other—and wield it with power!
0 lift Zion's banner, ye Fighters of Judah,
Our God is Almighty to shield and to aid;
If we have no bulwarks—let us be the fortress,
Our bodies—the rampart, our hearts—the
stockade!