Time for a new symbol to ring in Jewish values

The Star of David is a masculine, nationalist Jewish symbol. Miriam’s timbrel could be a more appropriate symbol for our times.

Any Jew can tell you that, no matter where you stand on the Israel-Hamas War, it is an extremely polarizing time to be a Jew. Jewish and Israeli identity have been conflated and even Jewish activity that has nothing to do with Israel is being impacted.

Jewish identity is deeply tied up with Israel, especially in Australia, but that does not mean Australians, and other Diaspora Jews, necessarily support all of Israel’s actions.

The revival of the Star of David from its historical role as the religious and cultural symbol of the Jewish people to the national symbol of Israel makes it difficult to distinguish between attacks on Israel and attacks on Jews and created potential for conflict even before the current crisis.

Perhaps we need a new symbol for Jews to gather around, one that represents the values that have carried our community throughout the centuries and will continue to carry us out of this conflict towards peace.

The timbrel of Miriam would be an excellent alternative. The timbrel, variously interpreted as a kind of tambourine or set of finger cymbals, was used by the prophet Miriam after the Jews escaped from Pharaoh and enslavement.  I propose that the timbrel be the new symbol for the Jewish community, as a means to symbolize Miriam a Jewish leader we can look up to and a manifestation of Jewish values that we should be proud to hold.