Friends, today we will have a small culturological excursus, not about politics, not about the army, but about the symbols.

I want to tell you about the origin of a well-known emblem of Israel, that each of you see in my page. It is an escutcheon which contains a menorah, two olive branches and the writing between them.

The authors of the Israeli emblem are two brothers - Guttel (Gabriel) and Maxim Sheftelowitz, in Israel known as the Shamir brothers. They were born in Liepaja (Latvia) at the beginning of the 20th century, studied painting in Berlin, and then opened their own graphics studio in Riga. Later, in 1934, the two brothers moved to Palestine: here their talent could manifest itself in full force. Actually they were the founders of the Israeli classical graphic arts: with their hands the images of Jewish workers, soldiers, farmers were created. They were painting posters, developing their own Hebrew script, their work adorn the Israeli banknotes, stamps, medals, advertising objects of major companies.

In 1949, the young state needed to develop its official symbols, so a competition for the best image of the Israeli national emblem was announced. The drawing of the Shamir brothers won among hundreds of other works. Now you can see it in all the official documents of Israel.

The idea of creating of the Israeli emblem, the artists practically picked up from the biblical canon. Their emblem embodies the words of Zechariah: "I have seen - a lampstand of solid gold ... and seven lamps on it ... and two olives on it ... one at the right and the other at its left." Olive branches on the emblem are a symbol of the two leaders of the Jewish people, the high priest of the family of Aaron and the king of David’s family. The Shamir brothers chose the menorah, not the Star of David, because, in contrast to the six-pointed star, menorah is not found in other nations; in addition, the menorah is a symbol of the revival of the Jewish people and the source of light – the symbol of God. By the way, the Israeli emblem is not always depicted only in blue and white colors: the white and golden image is also used, such as in a passport.

At the advanced age the Shamir brothers closed their graphics studio: Maxim opened his firm specialized in designing stamps for new countries of Asia and Africa, and Guttel (Gabriel) retired, rested and traveled around the country, which he had painted and filled with symbols for the whole life.