Library : How the Israeli Flag Was Chosen

David Wolffsohn, who attended the First Zionist Congress in 1897, tells the story of the birth of the Israeli flag:

At the behest of our leader Herzl, I came to Basle to make preparations for the Zionist Congress. Among many other problems that occupied me then was one which contained something of the essence of the Jewish problem: What flag would we hang in the Congress Hall? Then an idea struck me. We have a flag—and it is blue and white. The TALLIT (prayer shawl) with which we wrap ourselves when we pray: that is our symbol. "Let us take this Tallit 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 the national flag, that flew over Congress Hall, came into being.

The blue stripes above and below the Magen David (also called the "Star of David") remind us of the tallit. When we see the Israeli flag, we remember the faith and the prayers of the many generations of Jews who longed for the return to their homeland.