Israel’s flag features a blue Star of David between two horizontal blue stripes.
The Israeli flag is a white banner with two blue stripes and a blue six-pointed Star of David in the center. The stripes were inspired by the appearance of the tallit, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl, which commonly has blue or dark bands near its edges. The Star of David is a widely recognized symbol of Jewish identity.
The design has roots in the early Zionist movement. A similar blue-and-white flag appeared in 1885 in Rishon LeZion, and the Zionist movement adopted a related design in the late nineteenth century. The flag became the national flag of Israel on 28 October 1948, several months after the state was established.
The blue shade is often described as sky blue or dark sky blue, although real flags can vary considerably in tone. A common mix-up is with Greece, whose flag also uses blue and white but has a cross and multiple stripes. Turkey’s flag is red with a white crescent and star, while Cyprus has a map of the island.