Tag Archives: World Zionist Congress

Jew of the Week: David Wolffsohn

The Man Who Created the Flag of Israel

David Wolffsohn (1856-1914) was born to a poor, religious Jewish family in the Lithuanian-Polish town of Darbenai (then part of Russia). His father was a Torah scholar and teacher, and Wolffsohn, too, was learning in yeshiva with the same goal in mind. In his teens, he was sent to live with relatives in Germany to avoid being conscripted to the Russian army. There, he met the rabbi, philosopher, and early Zionist leader Isaac Rülf, and became his devoted disciple. Meanwhile, Wolffsohn took up secular studies and went on to apprentice at a trading company. In 1877, he started his own flouring business, and was soon one of the most prominent Jewish businessmen in Europe. Henceforth, he dedicated his life to realizing that ancient dream of his people’s return to Israel. He played a key role within the Hovevei Zion movement, and in 1894 was a cofounder of the Society for the Promotion and Support of Jewish Agriculture in Syria and Palestine. When Herzl’s The Jewish State was published two years later, Wolffsohn immediately journeyed to Vienna to meet him. The two became very close and traveled the Holy Land together, setting the foundations for what would become the State of Israel. Not surprisingly, when the World Zionist Congress was founded, Herzl was made its president and Wolffsohn its vice-president. Upon Herzl’s death shortly after, Wolffsohn succeeded him. As president, he was instrumental in reinvigorating Jewish life in the Holy Land (among other things, it was under his tenure that the city of Tel-Aviv was founded). However, Wolffsohn is most famous for being the one who created the flag of modern Israel. Back in 1896, Herzl had written: “We have no flag, and we need one. If we desire to lead many men, we must raise a symbol above their heads. I would suggest a white flag, with seven golden stars…” Herzl’s proposal was good, but his flag gained little support. Wolffsohn responded to Herzl thus: “We have a flag—and it is blue and white. The talit with which we wrap ourselves when we pray: that is our symbol. Let us take this talit from its bag and unroll it before the eyes of Israel and the eyes of all nations…” Wolffsohn designed a simple flag with blue talit-like stripes and a star of David in the centre. The flag caught on quickly, and the rest is history.

Words of the Week

What is the meaning of human life, or, for that matter, of the life of any creature? To know an answer to this question means to be religious. You ask: Does it make any sense, then, to pose this question? I answer: The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life…
– Albert Einstein

The traditional design of the talit inspired the modern flag of Israel.

Jew of the Week: Abba Eban

The Zionist

Abba Eban

Aubrey Shlomo Meir Eban (1915-2002) Known as “Abba Eban”, this South African Jew was fluent in 10 languages, including Hebrew and Arabic, making him the ideal spy. As an intelligence officer, he rose to the rank of Major in the British Army, while also working diligently for the World Zionist Congress and being editor of the journal The Young Zionist. He worked at the UN for over a decade, where he was instrumental in passing Resolution 181 (the partition plan). Aside from this, he was ambassador to the US, deputy prime minister of Israel, minister of foreign affairs, education, culture and a long serving member of the Knesset. He wrote 9 books and received the Israel Prize.

Words of the Week

Marriage is giving it your all, but recognizing you are only half.
Chassidic Sages

Jew of the Week: Dr. Chaim Weizmann

Chemist, Zionist, President

Dr. President Weizmann

Chaim Azriel Weizmann (1874-1952) The first president of Israel, Weizmann was a chemist by training and lectured in universities across Europe. He developed the ABE process – a way of producing acetone from bacteria – which was relied upon heavily by the Allies in World Wars I & II to make explosives. Before the formation of Israel, he was president of the World Zionist Congress, working tirelessly for the establishment of a Jewish state. He was one of the founders of Hebrew University and the Weizmann Institute (recently ranked the best research facility in the world). When asked what reward he wanted in exchange for his invaluable contributions to the Great War, he answered “There is only one thing I want – a national home for my people.” The famous Balfour Declaration was issued just weeks later.

Words of the Week

If we use our fuel to get our power, we are living on our capital and exhausting it rapidly. This method is barbarous and wantonly wasteful, and will have to be stopped in the interest of coming generations.

– Nikola Tesla