From the St. Louis Jewish Light h/t (EOZ) : Most Jews are very familiar with the flag of Israel, which stands
alongside the American Stars and Stripes at many synagogues, but few are
familiar with its origins or with the startling fact that the first
time the Zionist flag flew over a public building on an official
occasion was at the 1904 World's Fair right here in St. Louis!
When the World's Fair (officially named the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition) was being organized, Michael Stiffelman, a local Zionist
leader, won the support of Jules Aubere, a non-Jewish newspaperman, to
persuade the Fair's board of directors to approve a request to publicly
fly the Zionist flag alongside those of other countries atop the Hall of
Nations. According to the late Moses Joshua Slonim, a famous local
Zionist leader in his book, "The Struggle for Zion's Rebirth," which was
extensively quoted by the late Jewish historian, Dr. Walter Ehrlich in
his definitive "Zion in the Valley," the flag snapped proudly in the
breeze, alongside the Stars and Stripes of the USA, the British Union
Jack and the French Tricolor. A striking photograph of the Zionist flag fluttering above the Hall of
Nations appeared in the 1926 anniversary edition of The Modern View, a
local Jewish newspaper published in St. Louis from 1900 through 1944. The proto-Israeli flag was introduced and displayed on a balcony outside
the Stadt Casino Musiksaal in Basel, Switzerland during the First
Zionist Congress in 1897, but the 1904 World's Fair may indeed have been
the first time it was officially flown at a non-Zionist event.Photo of the Zionist flag at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Labels:
World's Fair
From the St. Louis Jewish Light h/t (EOZ) : Most Jews are very familiar with the flag of Israel, which stands
alongside the American Stars and Stripes at many synagogues, but few are
familiar with its origins or with the startling fact that the first
time the Zionist flag flew over a public building on an official
occasion was at the 1904 World's Fair right here in St. Louis!
When the World's Fair (officially named the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition) was being organized, Michael Stiffelman, a local Zionist
leader, won the support of Jules Aubere, a non-Jewish newspaperman, to
persuade the Fair's board of directors to approve a request to publicly
fly the Zionist flag alongside those of other countries atop the Hall of
Nations. According to the late Moses Joshua Slonim, a famous local
Zionist leader in his book, "The Struggle for Zion's Rebirth," which was
extensively quoted by the late Jewish historian, Dr. Walter Ehrlich in
his definitive "Zion in the Valley," the flag snapped proudly in the
breeze, alongside the Stars and Stripes of the USA, the British Union
Jack and the French Tricolor. A striking photograph of the Zionist flag fluttering above the Hall of
Nations appeared in the 1926 anniversary edition of The Modern View, a
local Jewish newspaper published in St. Louis from 1900 through 1944. The proto-Israeli flag was introduced and displayed on a balcony outside
the Stadt Casino Musiksaal in Basel, Switzerland during the First
Zionist Congress in 1897, but the 1904 World's Fair may indeed have been
the first time it was officially flown at a non-Zionist event.
