Even casual observers of Israel are familiar with that country’s official anthem Hatikvah, its emblematic menorah, and its blue and white flag. But after celebrating Israel’s 68th birthday, its lesser-known symbols also deserve a place in the sun – symbols like the olive tree, the anemone coronaria and, of course, the hoopoe.
In an excellent article, art historian Alec Mishory traces the history of Israel’s two most famous symbols: its familiar blue-and-white flag with a Star of David at the centre, and its emblem, a menorah cradled by two olive branches. According to Mishory, the search to find a flag and emblem for the Jewish state represented a balancing act between the use of religious symbols and more modern ones with fewer religious connotations.
An early version of the flag is said to date back to Theodor Herzl’s proposed design – a white banner with seven gold stars. Those stars would represent the seven hours of daily labour advocated by Herzl. Unlike biblical symbols such as the shofar, the lulav and the Lion of Judah, formal Jewish ties to the Star of David are less defined. It was left to the flag’s blue-and-white stripes to be reminiscent of the similarly striped tallit prayer shawl.
As for Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah has its roots in 1878, when Naftali Herz Imber wrote a poem titled Tikvatenu (Our Hope) to commemorate the founding of the Jewish settlement of Petach Tikvah (Gateway of Hope). Hatikvah was officially confirmed as the Zionist anthem at the 18th conference in Prague in 1933. But it would have to wait over seven decades, until November 2004 to be proclaimed Israel’s official anthem.
As for who calls the shots when it comes to “official” Israel, the people with the real power are the members of the Knesset’s ministerial committee for symbols and ceremonies. Founded in the 1950s, the committee’s mandate covers state symbols, ceremonies, decorations and stamps, as well as national ceremonies and maintenance of national sites.
The committee also approves the annual official Independence Day Poster. As you scroll through a lovely slideshow of Yom Ha’atzmaut posters – the first depicts two muscular hands unfurling the new, national flag – you can see the evolution of how the country views itself. Throughout, there are recurring themes: fireworks, doves and dancing children.
Unfortunately, not all of the work of the ministerial committee is as pleasant. The task also falls to it to decide official names for Israel’s wars such as what to call the 2006 conflict with Hezbollah. The committee considered naming it the “War of the North” or the “Shield of the North War,” before choosing “The Second Lebanon War.” An official name had to be agreed upon so that it could be carved onto the graves of the fallen and used on medals of honour.
In a few cases, it has been left up to the people of Israel to decide their national symbols. On the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Israel was invited to display its national tree at an exhibit in the Chinese capital. The problem was that Israel had no official tree – so the Israel Nature and Parks Authority set out to let the public decide through an online poll. With 41 per cent of the vote, the olive tree easily claimed first place besting the Palestine oak (15 per cent), the redbud, the date palm, the carob and the terebinth! (seven per cent).
At the same time, in a hotly contested race for a national flower, the cyclamen persicum, (in Hebrew, Rakefet Metzuya) narrowly beat the anemone coronaria (also known as the poppy anemone or in Hebrew, Calanit Metzuya) by 30 to 28 per cent of the vote. With a margin that narrow, the poppy certainly was not going to let things lie. In 2013, a rematch was held by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. The table was turned with the vibrant red anemone coronaria being proclaimed the national flower.
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A few years ago, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel held a competition to select the country’s official bird. Contenders for the coveted honour included the yellow-vented bulbul, the European goldfinch, the griffon vulture, the spur-winged plover, the lesser kestrel, the barn owl, the Palestine sunbird, the graceful warbler and the hoopoe with its distinctive crest and swooping beak.
With 35 per cent of the vote, the hoopoe (duchifat) was the clear leader. Although King Solomon is said to have called it wise, the Jerusalem Post didn’t exactly give the bird a royal welcome with the headline, “Dirty, treif, but fit for a king, the hoopoe’s our national bird.”
Next time, the “unofficial” symbols of Israel.
Contact Mark Mietkiewicz via email here.
