What Star of David?

David Landau wrote in 1995 an article titled: Ancient Synagogues in the Holy Land - What Synagogues?
In this article he claimed that some of what archeologists call "Ancient Synagogues in the Holy Land" are in fact Roman temples built by Maximinus Daia (305-313 C.E.) in order to fight the rising Christian religion, and not Jewish Synagogues.
Since he wrote his article 11 years ago I sent him an E-mail asking if he still believes in his theory or did he change his mind with the time that passed since he brought it up? His answer was:
Yes, I still believe that those ancient buildings weren't synagogues
If David Landau's theory is right the meaning from my point of view is that the "first" Jewish Star of David, which was found in Capernaum was not Jewish!

The Name of the Star

Philologos discusses why the same symbol is called a Shield of David in Hebrew and a Star of David in English and arrives to the conclusion that

The earliest recorded Jewish name for it is hotam Shelomo or seal of Solomon, a term that entered Hebrew and many European languages as a translation of the Arabic khatam Suleyman… Moreover, the Arabs called another of Solomon's seals najmat Da'ud or the Star of David, and eventually, taken over by Christian Europe, these two terms became differentiated, with seal of Solomon referring to a five-pointed pentagon and star of David to a six-pointed hexagon.

Uri Ofir suggested in his research about The Jewish Origin of the Star of David that the source for this "odd" translation is in the commentaries of Rashi and Iben Ezra. Rashi and Iben Ezra wrote that Bilam's prediction ["There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17)] is about King David. These two commentators were so influential that every Jew knew that there is a strong connection between the concept of the Star and the concept of David. No wonder that when translators dealt with these materials they unanimously decided on the same ("odd") translation.

Boxing

Boxer Dana "dangerous" Rosenblatt fought always with a blue Star of David on his white boxing shorts. Dana is a middleweight champion. He was invited frequently to speak at universities, kids' camps and religious events visiting temples all over the Boston area and beyond and talking to the kids on the importance of having been a Jewish fighter.
Another Jewish boxer who used to wear a Star of David on his trunks was Dmitriy Salita whose performing name was “The Star of David”.

Emotion

Yesterday I saw someone wearing a Christian Cross necklace and I thought that here in Jerusalem it is quite rare to identify Christians; they look the same as everybody else… I looked at him with a special interest. This is what symbols are all about. It's true that they have a certain shape, a certain meaning, and a certain history - but above all they make one FEEL that he belongs to a certain group and that he doesn't belong to other groups.

Bezalel

Dalia Manor wrote in her book Art In Zion: The Genesis of Modern National Art in Jewish Palestine (2005, Page 43) that the aspirations of the founders of Bezalel School of art were to create "the original Hebrew style" and for that purpose they used recurrent Jewish symbols such as the Menorah, the Star of David, the Tablets of the Law, the Ark of the Covenant and lions. Dalia Manor noted that the menorah was much more popular than the Star of David.
Dr Haya Friedberg, wrote an article (in Hebrew) about Bezalel School where she told that about two decades after it was founded (in 1906) an anonymous writer protested in a letter to the editor of an Israeli newspaper against the exaggerated use in "Star of Davids, Yemenites and lions" that do not testify about the presence of Hebrew art in Bezalel.
The school's name, Bezalel, is taken from the name of the artist of the Tabernacle after the Exodus, Bezalel Ben Uri Ben Chur of the tribe of Judea who didn't succeed in the making of the first Menorah so that eventually it was made by the Lord. I believe that if the founder of this school, Boris Schatz, knew the theory of Uri Ofir, that the first Star of David was made as a candle holder in this first Menorah – he would have influenced his pupils to make more Stars of David than menorahs...

Mormons

Mormons believe they belong to the Jewish lost tribe Ephraim, and that's why Judaism is so important for them. No wonder they use the Star of David:
The Salt Lake Assembly Hall is Victorian gothic building and a Star of David within a circle is placed high above each entrance. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia).
Some of the Mormons believe that the Star of David got its shape from the Urim and Thummim that the Jewish High Priest carried on his chest.
Vincent Chapman published on 28 January 2005 a flag for the Mormon Church which contains a big Star of David in the center surrounded by twelve stars that stand for the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles. The former Mormon flag which was made in the 1800's by Emma Smith had a large 5 point star in the middle.
Utah Republican Mormon Senator, Orrin Hatch, is a Zionist and on his front door there's a Star of David.
Cecil McGavin in his book Mormonism and Masonry (2004) mentions that Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, "was not a Jew yet he was pleased to display above the door in his historic Mansion House in Nauvoo, Illinois, a small gilt-covered six pointed star".

Little-Known Chapter

Mildenstein medal, with a Swastika on one side and a Star of David on the other 
Photograph courtesy of Arnon Goldfinger (c) 2014

Mark Weber, Director of the Institute for Historical Review, published an article about Zionism and the Third Reich and in it told the story of SS officer Leopold von Mildenstein and Zionist Federation official Kurt Tuchler who traveled to Palestine together and stayed there for six months in order to assess Zionist development. In 1934 von Mildenstein published twelve illustrated articles in Der Angriff. Der Angriff issued a special medal, with a Swastika on one side and a Star of David on the other, to commemorate the joint SS-Zionist visit.

In the introduction to this article Weber says that this is one of the stories belonging to the little-known wide-ranging collaboration between Zionism and Nazi authorities; I reckon it is a repressed chapter, certainly from the Zionist point of view.

P.S.
 See Arnon Goldfinger's 2012 documentary, The Flat, on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z94u_5qLxXU#t=30

See Also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flat_(2011_film)