Adopted 1950 | ||
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The municipal emblem of Jerusalem is the official symbol of the city of Jerusalem since 1950. The emblem's main figure is a Lion, shown rampant, which represents the "lion of Judah", the symbol of the Tribe of Judah and later on the Kingdom of Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem. The emblem background represents the Walls of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, and the olive branch represents the quest for peace. The inscription above the crest is the Hebrew word for Jerusalem (yerushalayim).
Shortly after the founding of the state of Israel, the City's mayor Gershon Agron created a design competition among graphic designers for the city's national emblem. The winning design was made by a team led by Eliyahu Koren, the founding director of the Jewish National Fund's graphics department, and an influential typeface and book designer.
In 1943 the Jerusalem Municipality had approved a different emblem for the city, but the British Mandate authorities never ratified that decision.