80 years have passed since the yellow mark was identified with a Jew, a captive, an inferior prisoner, and more.
This historical consciousness was so seared into us that almost no other graphic consideration (optimistic, warm, happy color) overcame this and did not release yellow for everyday use.
And here the yellow ribbon burst into our lives. On the hand, on the car, on trees - everywhere.
Few colors have such self-contradictory symbolics as yellow. On the one hand, it is perceived in various cultures as the color of decay, jealousy and scandalous gossip ("yellow press"), and on the other hand, it is a warm color reminiscent of sunflower fields, daffodils, and in general the strong Israeli sun. Something between danger and renewal.
Its prominence in the field can also be seen in the yellow vests found in everyone in the vehicle, and in warning signs warning of the use of various materials. In New York, taxis are painted yellow, as are children's buses. It cannot be ignored.
But we have a different story.
Every design student knows that color is not just what you see, but – and most importantly – what it represents. No matter how prominent it is in the background, or warm and fashionable. With us, a yellow mark is placed on a garment taken from another generation, and if you already correspond with a patch, then with measured use and with a lot of sensitivity. This is our story, or at least one of our stories.
In the 80s, when Israel reached the Eurovision final in Germany with the song "Chai" ("Am Yisrael Chai"), it was a brave consideration by Doreen Frankfurt to dress the band in full yellow. The idea was to translate the lyrics into color and express Jewish survival and the triumph of the spirit.
Another narrative of yellow comes from a different direction and connects with a woman waiting for her soldier to return. During the Civil War, American women would wait for their loved ones with a yellow scarf or a yellow ribbon in their hair. Yellow ribbons were also hung on tree trunks in the yards of American fighters who fought in Iraq, and so until they returned home. In the 90s, it was the women of the Four Mothers movement who fought for the exit from Lebanon with yellow signs. The Mothers Against the Occupation movement, which was born in the early <>s and called for soldiers to be removed from the territories, also used the color yellow.
Few colors have such self-contradictory symbolics as yellow. On the one hand, it is perceived in various cultures as the color of decay, jealousy and scandalous gossip ("yellow press"), and on the other hand, it is a warm color reminiscent of sunflower fields, daffodils, and in general the strong Israeli sun. Something between danger and renewal
Yellow ribbons were also distributed at intersections by the headquarters of the struggle to return Gilad Shalit in 2011, and two years ago it was Simcha Goldin, father of the late soldier Hadar Goldin, who called for adding a yellow ribbon to the Israeli flag ahead of Independence Day.
This week, they were joined by these two huge issues that are at the core of our being Israelis: mothers' expectation of the return of their sons and daughters, and the memory of the Holocaust and the "never again" phrases.
And without realizing it, this time the yellow ribbon caught on, big time.
The description of the scenes of the massacre in the surrounding communities in terms of Auschwitz, alongside pictures of children and babies in captivity, brought back the Jewish sign from which we slipped to the forefront under the statement - We are all Jews, a yellow ribbon on our hand, but this time we will win.
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