Flag of Israel
The flag of the State of Israel (Hebrew: דגל ישראל Degel Yīsraʾel; Arabic: علم إسرائيل ʿAlam Isrāʾīl) was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. It consists of a white background with a blue Star of David in the centre and two horizontal blue stripes at the top and bottom, recalling the design of the tallit (טַלִּית). The Israeli flag legislation states that the official measurements are 160 × 220 cm. Therefore, the official proportions are 8:11. Variants can be found at a wide range of proportions, with 2:3 being common.
| Flag of Zion | |
| Use | National flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 8:11 |
| Adopted | August 1897 (by the Zionist movement) 28 October 1948 (State of Israel) |
| Design | A blue Star of David between two horizontal blue stripes on a white field. |
| Use | Civil ensign |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1948 |
| Design | Navy blue flag with a white vertically elongated oval set near the hoist containing a vertically elongated blue Star of David. |
| Use | Naval ensign |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1948 |
| Design | Navy blue flag with a white triangle at hoist and blue Star of David in it. |
| Use | Israeli Air Force flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | Light blue flag with thin white stripes with dark blue borders near the top and bottom, displaying an air force roundel in the center. |
The blue color is described as "dark sky-blue", and varies from flag to flag, ranging from a hue of pure blue, sometimes shaded almost as dark as navy blue, to hues about 75% toward pure cyan and shades as light as very light blue. An early version of the flag was displayed in 1885 at a procession marking the third anniversary of Rishon LeZion. A similar version was designed for the Zionist movement in 1891. The Star of David (Magen David, מָגֵן דָּוִד), a Jewish symbol dating from late medieval-era Prague, was adopted by the First Zionist Congress in 1897.