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Minister of Defence's Flag (Israel)

Sar HaBita'hon

2:3
image by Željko Heimer

Description

See also:

Rank Flags (Israel)
Naval Rank Flags (Israel)
Israel

Description

Dark blue with the national flag in the canton and the national coat-of-arms surmounting a palewise sword enfiling an olive wreath, all white, in the lower fly.
Source: Ministry of Defence 1974.
Joseph McMillan, 7 November 2000

Army flags are 6:11 (120x220) and the canton is 8:11 (80x110) while its length is half of the flag length. I have never seen this flag which does not mean it does not exist. If it does, it is probably somewhere in the Minister of Security chambers and is not in common use.
Dov Gutterman, 7 November 2000

In an article in Flagmaster no.059, Zvi Ruder specifies Minister of Defence badge as gold with a silver sword. In Flags of All Nations 1958 the badge is gold. This is the way I presented it in the Album des Pavillons, correction no.30 and in Album des Pavillons 2000 and it was at the time checked both by Zvi Ruder and Nahum Shereshevsky.
Armand Noel du Payrat, 7 November 2000

The plates I copied from Ministry of Defence 1974 are not in color. They are shown in black, white, and gray. That means the Minister of Defence and the Chief of General Staff (and other) flags could well be purple or red rather than blue and that the badges could be gold or gold and silver as well as white. The only distinction of colors is that the blue in the national flag in the Minister of Defence and the Chief of General Staff canton is shown as light gray while the field of these and the other flags is shown as black. The Magen David on the other command flags is shown in the same black as the field, while the Magen David on the naval ensign is shown as gray.
Joseph McMillan, 7 November 2000

I don't remember the source but I draw this flag with full white emblem except border of the shield, that is gold (but not the devices within). Israeli flag in canton is in blue color of the same shade as the national flag rather than sky blue. 1955 version has golden border and different ratio.
Jaume Ollé, 11 November 2000

Album des Pavillons 2000 shows it as a blue flag with the national flag in the canton and a yellow version of the state coat-of-arms on the lower fly set over an upright silver sword and olive branch. The flag is surrounded on three sides with a yellow border, which I believe is not a fringe, but an actual border, i.e. part of the flag field. That does no mean, I guess, that there might not be some fringe in addition.
Željko Heimer, 8 February 2002

I must admit I have never seen either this flag or the Prime Minister one. Moreover, I am pretty sure that these have no variant for use ashore. All photos I saw of the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and their chambers only show the light blue IDF flag at MoD office. Furthermore, in photos of the Chief of General Staff standing by the MoD, the only flag to be seen is the Chief of General Staff one. I assume that if such flags exist, they are used on the rare ocassions when one of these VIPs visit a naval base or vessel.
Dov Gutterman, 9 February 2002

Particularly considering that it appears on the top, bottom and fly sides only, I would be very much inclined to think that the yellow border is rather a golden fringe.
Santiago Dotor, 11 February 2002

Indeed. It is a gold fringe and not a yellow border.
Dov Gutterman, 11 February 2002