National symbols of Israel are the

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

s that are used in Israel and abroad to represent the country and its people.

National flag – flag of Israel

The flag of Israel is the official flag of the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, which represents the state, its sovereignty, its institutions, and its citizens both in Israel and worldwide. This flag has a white background and two horizontal blue stripes, charged with a blue

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

(''Magen David'') in the middle. The flag was conceived during the period of the First Aliyah and was adopted as the flag of the Zionism since the movement's inception in 1897. The flag was officially chosen as the flag of the State of Israel on 28 October 1948, and it was favoured over other flag proposals mainly due to the popularity it gained among the Jewish population in Israel. The two blue stripes represent a '' tallit'' or prayer shawl, and both sides of the split Red Sea that the Hebrews walked through as written in the Book of Exodus. The Star of David also represents the Jewish identity of Israel, as well as the culture and history of the Jewish people.

National emblem – emblem of Israel

The emblem of Israel is an

escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...

which contains a

menorah Menorah may refer to: * Jewish candelabra: ** Temple menorah, a seven-lamp candelabrum used in the ancient Tabernacle in the desert, the Temple in Jerusalem, and synagogues ** Hanukkah menorah or ''hanukkiyah'', a nine-lamp candelabrum used on the ...

in its center, two olive branches on both sides of the menorah and at the bottom the label "Israel" in Hebrew. The emblem was designed by the brothers

Gabriel and Maxim Shamir Gabriel Shamir (1909-1992) and Maxim Shamir (1910-1990) were Israeli graphic designers. They designed Israel's official state emblems, medals, stamps and currency notes. Biography Guttel (Gabriel) and Maxim Sheftelowitz (later Shamir) were bor ...

, and was officially chosen on 10 February 1949 from among many other proposals submitted as part of a design competition held in 1948.

National anthem – "Hatikvah"

Hatikvah Hatikvah ( he, הַתִּקְוָה, haTīqvā, ; ) is the national anthem of the State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return t ...

" is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europe ...

of Israel. The anthem was written in 1878 by

Naphtali Herz Imber Naftali Herz Imber ( he, , yi, ; December 27, 1856 – October 8, 1909) was a Jewish Hebrew-language poet, most notable for writing "Hatikvah", the poem that became the basis for the Israeli national anthem. Biography Naftali Herz Imber ...

, a secular Galician

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

from

Zolochiv Zolochiv, ( ua, Золочів) may refer to the following places in Ukraine: * Zolochiv, Lviv Oblast, city in Lviv Oblast * Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast Zolochiv ( uk, Золочів) is an urban-type settlement in Bohodukhiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast ...

(today in

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a relational adjective—in English translating to a noun adjunct w ...

), who moved to the Land of Israel in the early 1880s. The music to Haitkvah was composed by Samuel (Shmuel) Cohen, adapted from a Moldovian-Romanian folk song, in 1888. The poem was subsequently adopted as the anthem of

Hovevei Zion Hovevei Zion ( he, חובבי ציון, lit. '' hose who areLovers of Zion''), also known as Hibbat Zion ( he, חיבת ציון), refers to a variety of organizations which were founded in 1881 in response to the Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russi ...

and later of the

Zionist Movement Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

at the

First Zionist Congress The First Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני הראשון) was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization (ZO) held in Basel (Basle), from August 29 to August 31, 1897. 208 delegates and 26 press correspondents attend ...

in 1897. The text subsequently underwent a number of other changes. "Hatikvah" is one of only a few national anthems in the world which is in a

minor scale In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which al ...

, such as "

Mila Rodino "" ( bg, Мила Родино, ; "Dear Motherland") is the national anthem of Bulgaria. It was composed and written by Tsvetan Radoslavov as he left to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885. The anthem was adopted in 1964. The text has been c ...

" (

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

) and " Meniñ Qazaqstanım" (

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

); the anthems of some other Asian countries are of a different tonality such as Japan and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. Though it sounds mournful, the song is optimistic and uplifting as the title (which means "hope") suggests. The anthem's theme revolves around the nearly 2,000-year-old hope of the Jewish people for freedom and sovereignty in the Land of Israel, a national dream that was later realised with the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948.

National colors – blue and white

The

national colours National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have ''de facto'' national colours that have become wel ...

of Israel are officially blue and white as seen on the

flag of Israel The flag of Israel ( he, דגל ישראל '; ar, علم إسرائيل ') was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blu ...

. The origin of the combination of these colors is from the Bible, in which they are mentioned in several instances. Blue and white are also the traditional team colours of the Israel national sporting teams.

National bird – Hoopoe

The hoopoe was chosen as the

national bird This is a list of national birds, including official birds of overseas territories and other states described as nations. Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status. National birds See a ...

of the

in May 2008 in conjunction with the country's 60th anniversary, following a national survey of 155,000 citizens, outpolling the

white-spectacled bulbul The white-spectacled bulbul (''Pycnonotus xanthopygos'') is a member of the bulbul family. It is in length with a wingspan of . These birds live in fruit plantations, gardens, and cities. It is the most common member of the bulbul family in Isr ...

. The hoopoe was declared as the national bird of the State of Israel on 29 May 2008 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

National flower – ''Anemone coronaria''

In September 2007 the

cyclamen ''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They gro ...

(רקפת, more exactly ''

Cyclamen persicum ''Cyclamen persicum'', the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to above sea level, from south-central Turkey to Lebanon-Syria and ...

'') was elected as the national flower of the State of Israel and as its official representative in the botanical exhibition "We Are One World" held in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. The cyclamen won over by a small margin over the ''

Anemone coronaria ''Anemone coronaria'', the poppy anemone, Spanish marigold, or windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Anemone coronaria'' is a herbaceous perenni ...

'' (6,509 compared with 6,053 votes) in a poll conducted among visitors of the popular Israeli website

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the ''Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

. However, in November 2013 the

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel ( he, החברה להגנת הטבע, ''HaHevra LeHaganat HaTeva''), or SPNI, is an Israeli non-profit environmental organization working to preserve plants, animals, and natural environments that repr ...

(החברה להגנת הטבע) and Ynet arranged a larger poll, in which the ''Anemone coronaria'' (כלנית מצויה) was elected as Israel's national flower.הכלנית: הזוכה בתחרות "הפרח של ישראל"

, November 25, 2013.

National tree – olive

Gethsemane Garden (Mount of Olives) (3272135786)

In September 2007 the olive was elected as the national tree of the State of Israel and as its official representative in the botanical exhibition "We Are One World" held in

. The olive is one of the

Seven Species The Seven Species ( he, שִׁבְעַת הַמִינִים, ''Shiv'at HaMinim'') are seven agricultural products - two grains and five fruits - which are listed in the Hebrew Bible as being special products of the Land of Israel. The seven specie ...

of the Land of Israel described in the Bible. The olive won by a large margin over the ''

Quercus calliprinos ''Quercus calliprinos'' is an oak classified as part of the '' Ilex'' section of the genus growing in the Mediterranean climate zone, mainly on limestone, in mid-elevations, often dominating the flora, alongside terebinths ('' Pistacia tere ...

'' in a poll conducted among visitors of the popular Israeli website

National dog – Canaan Dog

The Canaan Dog is the national dog breed of Israel. The Canaan Dog is a member of the pariah-type dogs, a sub family of the

spitz Spitz (derived from the German word ''spitz'' 'pointed') is a type of domestic dog characterized by long, thick, and often white fur, and pointed ears and muzzles. The tail often curls over the dog's back or droops. While all of the breeds resem ...

group of dogs. The Canaan Dog has been very common in the

Southern Levant The Southern Levant is a geographical region encompassing the southern half of the Levant. It corresponds approximately to modern-day Israel, Palestine, and Jordan; some definitions also include southern Lebanon, southern Syria and/or the Sinai ...

region, from

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

to Syria. The breed was recognized by the

Israeli Association of Dog Handlers Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

in 1963 and in 1966 the breed was also recognized as Israel's national dog breed by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) ( English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspice ...

References

External links

Facts about Israel: The State
at the

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:National Symbols Of Israel Israel-related lists

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...