Regardless of background or denomination, most Jews recognize the Star of David as a symbol of Judaism. Today, the symbol is practically ubiquitous in the Jewish world.
The most iconic use of the star might be on the Israeli flag. But the Star of David wasn’t always a universal symbol for Judaism.
How did two overlapping triangles come to be the most universally recognizable symbol associated with Judaism?
In ancient times, the Star of David — or the Magen David — wasn’t an exclusively Jewish symbol. It was a common geometric symbol, just like the five-point star and even the swastika.
The oldest record of the six-point star as a Jewish symbol was around the second or third century. Archeologists found Stars of David on the walls of the Synagogue of Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee. However, most experts think that these stars were used for decorative purposes and didn’t hold any significant Jewish meaning.
Nearly a century later, the star appeared on the now famous Leningrad Codex, the oldest known manuscript of the Hebrew Bible dating from 1008 CE. However, it’s unclear if it was used merely for decoration or had a deeper religious purpose.
Experts like German-Israeli academic and philosopher Gershom Scholem theorize that the star gained more meaning in Judaism in the mysterious teachings of the Kabbalah.
The 13th and 14th centuries saw a growing movement of Jewish sages in Spain, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East writing kabbalistic texts that explored the foundations of Jewish mysticism.
These texts were the first sources to ascribe meaning to the six-point star. The Book of Boundary, written in Spain in the early 14th century, contains several depictions of the six-point star, which is identified as being on the Shield of David.
According to the legend, King David’s protective shield had magical powers and could ward off spirits and demons. Other works of the time make similar references to the king’s magical amulet with a six-point star emblazoned on it.
But the earliest known particularly Jewish usage of the Star of David wasn’t tied to a kabbalah scholar. In the mid-14th century, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV gave Prague’s Jews the right to bear a flag. Under the red flag, with a yellow Star of David on it, Prague was the world’s first Jewish community to use the star as its official emblem.
The Star of David was on flags and books in Prague at the time and in surrounding Jewish communities, but it didn’t go viral until the 18th century.
It started in Europe, where everywhere Jews looked, they saw the symbol of Christianity: the cross.
Seeking their own distinctly Jewish symbol, communities turned to the Star of David. This struck a chord with Diaspora Jews and spread to synagogues across the world.
The star was cemented as the Jewish symbol in 1897 at the first Zionist Congress in Basel, which was chaired by Theodor Herzl. There, the Star of David was chosen over icons like the menorah as the official Zionist symbol for two reasons.
First, Jews everywhere already knew it, thanks to the widespread use of the star during the 19th century, when it became splashed on synagogues, prayer books, tombstones, and more. Second, it didn’t carry the religious significance that other symbols did.
By the mid-20th century, no symbol was more tied to Judaism. Zionist leaders embraced the six-point star, arguing that it didn’t evoke memories of the past and could represent a brighter future.
But in Nazi Germany, hopes of a brighter future dimmed.
To pervert the symbol of the Jewish people, Hitler decreed that all Jews under the Third Reich wear a yellow six-point star as a badge of shame. The yellow Star of David is one of the most enduring images of the Holocaust.
But the Jews who survived would not let Hitler decide their symbol’s legacy. On the heels of World War Two, they reclaimed their star with the establishment of the State of Israel.
In the debate over what emblem would be featured on the young nation’s flag, the flag of the Zionist movement already had strong support, but Israeli politicians like Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett had reservations.
He and others feared that Jewish communities in the diaspora could face dual loyalty charges if the flags of the Zionist movement and the Israeli flag were the same. Therefore, in June 1948, the Israeli government’s designated committee announced a public competition calling for flag designs.
Though it wasn’t a requirement, entries were encouraged to include a menorah and seven gold stars — a design dreamed up by Herzl and sketched in his diary in the late 19th century.
During the two-week-long competition, 164 people participated, submitting a total of 450 designs. While deciding on the final design, Sharett wanted input from the diaspora. So, he reached out to Zionist leaders abroad.
The response was clear. They and their constituents overwhelmingly preferred to have the Zionist flag become Israel’s national flag. On October 28, 1948, the Provisional Council voted unanimously to adopt the Zionist flag as that of the State of Israel.
With its rich and complex history, today, many view the Star of David as an enduring symbol of Jewish pride and perseverance.
Institutions across the globe display and commission art installations that examine the star’s history, from JCCs, synagogues, and museums, to other iconic institutions like Soroka Medical Center in Southern Israel.
But the star can also be controversial. Queer Jewish activists were singled out and barred from participating in 2019’s DC Dyke March, a pro-LGBTQ rally in Washington, for waving rainbow pride flags with the Star of David on them.
The charge? Organizers claimed that the Jewish Pride flag was banned because it had a “Star of David placed in the center, superimposed over a rainbow flag, and is almost entirely reminiscent of the Israeli flag, swapping out the blue and white for a rainbow.” They also called it a “nationalist symbol.” This begs the question: is it a symbol for a people or a country?
The Jewish people predate the modern State of Israel, and so does the symbol. The legacy of the star lives on almost everywhere in Jewish communities throughout the world.
Whether this symbol dates back thousands of years or a few hundred, it’s an emblem woven deeply into the fabric of modern Jewish history and serves as a powerful image that binds the Jewish people together today.
