III. The Hebrew Alphabet

Jewish-, or block-, or square-script

In February 2001, a set of 22 stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov was issued, each stamp illustrating a Hebrew letter, and a separate set of five representing ‘end forms’ of the letters. The stamps were issued in two separate miniature sheets. Each stamp had a value of 0.10 NIS.

The first few Hebrew letters represented in the sets were looked at in February 2024, then more In March, and the final group here in April 2024.

The modern form of Hebrew – as described in the February post, I. The Hebrew Alphabet – emerged during the 19th century, and worked on by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858-1922). Hitherto, Hebrew had served as the primary vehicle of Jewish scripture, liturgy, and law.

The letter ayin, ‘ע’, as represented on the February 2001 set of stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Ayin is for ‘achbar’ or ‘mouse’

The revival of Hebrew as a modern language had been intimately connected with the revival of the dormant Jewish nation. Hebrew became transformed into a vehicle for modern intellectual activity, and in the 20th century when Zionism moved from Europe to Ottoman then British Palestine, Hebrew became the language of the Jewish community there (the Yeshuv).

The letter pey, ‘פ’, as represented on the February 2001 set of stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Pey is for ‘peel’ or ‘elephant’

While Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) had been skeptical about whether people would ever be able to ask for a railway ticket, say, in Hebrew, the ancient language did become a daily living language. It was used not only to buy railway tickets but to negotiate with shopkeepers, and curse political opponents.

Hey sofit, or ‘ף‎’,‎ the ‘final form’ of hey at the end of a word

In 1948, when the State of Israel was founded, Hebrew became the official language of the new country, alongside Arabic, and English, with a state-sponsored language academy to guard its integrity. The Academy of the Hebrew Language was founded in 1953. It replace the Hebrew Language Committee founded by Ben-Yehuda in 1890.

The letter tsadi, ‘צ‎’, as represented on the February 2001 set, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Tsadi is for ‘tsahv’ or ‘turtle’

The Academy of the Hebrew Language is located at the Hebrew University, Ramat Gan Campus. The Academy sets standards for modern Hebrew grammar, orthography, transliteration, and punctuation based on the historical development of the language. It also writes a Hebrew Historical Dictionary.

Tsadi sofit, or ‘ץ‎’‎,‎ the ‘final form’ of tsadi at the end of a word

From a historical perspective, it could be argued that one of Zionism’s greatest achievements was the transformation of Hebrew into a language spoken by millions, and the creation of a world-class literary culture, boating outstanding prose writers and poets.

The letter qof, ‘ק‎‎‘, as represented on the February 2001 set, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Qof is for ‘ke’shet’ or ‘rainbow’

Among these were: author Yosef Hayim Brenner (1881-1921), born in Ukraine, died in Tel Aviv-Yafo; poet Chaim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934), born in Volhynia (now part of Ukraine and Belarus), died in Vienna, Austria; poet Rachel Bluwstien (1890-1931), born Saratov, Russia, died in Tel Aviv-Yafo; poet, author, playwright, literary translator, illustrater and painter, Leah Goldberg (1911-70), born in Königsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, exclave of Russia) died in Jerusalem; writer and politician S. Yizhar (1916-2006), born in Rehovot, Israel, died in Gedera, Israel; poet and translator Dahlia Ravikovitch (1936-2005), born in Ramat Gan, Israel, died in Tel Aviv-Yafo; poet Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000), born in Würzburg, Germany, died in Israel; writer and novelist Amos Oz (1939-2018), born in Jerusalem, died in Tel Aviv-Yafo; and, author David Grossman (born 1954), born in Jerusalem.

The letter resh ‘ר’ with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Resh is for ‘ru’ach’ or ‘wind’

Validation of the excellence of Hebrew letters came in 1966 when one of the greatest of Israeli novelists and poets, Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1887-1970), born in Ukraine, died in Jerusalem, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, sharing it with German-Swedish poet and playwright Nelly Sachs (1891-1970), born in Berlin, died in Stockholm.

The letter shin ‘ש’ with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Shin is for ‘shofar’ or ‘ram’s horn’

These men and women were Jews of central and eastern European origin, and pillars of Jewish culture in Israel. Occupying a different space were Jews of Spanish and Middle Eastern origin. Among these were: writer and civil servant Eli Amir (born 1937), born in Baghdad, Iraq; author Sami Michael (born 1926), born in Baghdad; novelist and essayist A. B. Yehoshua (1936-2022), born in Jerusalem, died in Tel Aviv; author Orly Castel-Bloom (born 1960), born in Tel Aviv; Ronit Matalon (1959-2017), born in Ganei Tikva, died in Haifa; and, rabbi and author Haim Sabato (born 1952), born in Cairo. They grew up in Ladino (a form of Judeo-Spanish), French, and Arabic environments.

The letter tav ‘ת’ with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Tav is for ‘takin’ or ‘crocodile’

One of Israel’s most accomplished writers, Samir Naqqash (1938-2004), born in Baghdad, died in Petah Tikva, won a wide and admiring literary audience throughout the Middle East for his literary work in the Arabic of his native Baghdad.

In the creation of this third and final post around the Hebrew Alphabet, the following resources were used: (1) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation; (2) David N. Meyers, Jewish history. A very short introduction, pp. 69-71 (Oxford University Press, 2017).

If you have enjoyed this month’s post, you can access the first two in the three-part series here: I. The Hebrew Alphabet, and II. The Hebrew Alphabet.

II. The Hebrew Alphabet

Ktav Ashuri

In February 2001, a set of 22 stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov was issued, each stamp illustrating a Hebrew letter, and a separate set of five representing ‘end forms’ of the letters. The stamps were issued in two separate miniature sheets. Each stamp had a value of 0.10 NIS.

The first few Hebrew letters represented in the sets were looked at in February 2024, and some more will be looked at in this March post, and in April 2024.

The Hebrew alphabet (Alefbet ivri) is known as the Ktav Ashuri or Jewish script, or square-, or block- script. It is an abjad script, a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be deduced by the reader. Arabic and Aramaic are also written in abjad script.

The letter yod, ‘ י‎ ‘, as represented on the set of stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov and issued in February 2001. Yod is for ‘yom’ or ‘day’. The Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter is shown on the tab

The present-day Jewish script or square- or block- script, is a stylized form of the Aramaic alphabet, known as Ashurit, ‘Assyrian script’, with Assyrian origins (ancient Assyria spanning the Mesopotaman Basin, into modern Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and the Nile Delta).

The letter kaf, ‘כ’, as represented on the set of stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov and issued in February 2001. Kaf is for ‘kelev’ or ‘dog’. On the tab is the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter

The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, and 5 letters have different forms when used at the end of a word, making 27 separate letters. These are called sofit, meaning ‘final’ or ‘ending’ form. Like Arabic, Hebrew is written from right to left.

Kaf sofit, or ‘ך’,‎ the ‘final form’ of kaf at the end of a word

Originally, the alphabet was an abjad consisting only of consonants, but it is now probably an ‘impure abjad‘ because, like in Arabic, its scribes had devised over the centuries a means of indicating vowels by separate vowel points around a consonant, known as niqqud in Hebrew… markers, basically.   

The letter lamed, ‘ל’, as represented on the February 2001 set of stamps. Lamed is for ‘lekem’ or ‘bread’. On the tab is the Proto-Sinaitic representation

Niqqud are often omitted in writing, except for in children’s books, prayer books, poetry, foreign words, and words which would be ambiguous to pronounce. Here is the word ‘dagesh’ in Hebrew, with markers:

דָּגֵשׁ

The letter mem, ‘מ’, as represented on the February 2001 set of stamps. Mem is for ‘mayim’ or ‘water’. On the tab is the Proto-Sinaitic representation

Niqqud marks are small compared to the letters, so they can be added without retranscribing texts whose writers did not anticipate them.

Mem sofit, or ‘ם’,‎ the ‘final form’ of mem at the end of a word

The letters ‘א‎’ alef, ‘ע’‎ ayin, ‘ו’‎ vav and י‎ yod are letters that can sometimes indicate a vowel instead of a consonant.

The letter nun, ‘נ‘, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Nun is for ‘nah-khash’ or ‘snake’

While there are 5 vowel phonemes represented by niqqud, or markers, or dots – for ‘i’, ‘e’, ‘a’, ‘o’ and ‘u’ – there are many more written symbols for them. These are: hiriq, tsere, segol, patach, kamatz, holam haser, holam male, shuruk, and kubutz.

Nun sofit, or ‘ן’,‎ the ‘final form’ of nun at the end of a word

The symbols, meteg, and sh’va, can make the vowels long or short.

The letter samech, ‘ס’, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Samech is for ‘so-le-lah’ or ‘battery’

If you have enjoyed reading this post, perhaps you would like to read the first one too: I. The Hebrew Alphabet

The website, Israel Philatelic Federation was used as a resource for the creation of this series of posts.

I. The Hebrew Alphabet

Alefbet ivri

In February 2001, a set of 22 stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov was issued, each stamp illustrating a Hebrew letter, and a separate set of five representing ‘end forms’ of the letters. The stamps were issued in two separate miniature sheets. Each stamp had a value of 0.10 NIS.

Over February, March, and April 2024, this set will be looked at in detail.

Along with the movement to establish a homeland for Jewish people in the ‘Land of Israel’, part of the Ottoman Empire (attached administratively to the province of Damascus) – the movement known as Zionism – the Hebrew language experienced a modern revival as a spoken and literary language.

The letter alef, ‘א‎’, as represented on the February 2001 set of stamps designed by Yitzhak Granot and E. Lorentsov – the Hebrew Alphabet – with Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Alef is for ‘aryeh’ or ‘lion’

Hebrew had been carried into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature, Jewish commerce, and Jewish poetic literature, though the language had gone into decline circa 200-400 AD.

The letter bet, ‘ב’, as represented on the February 2001 set, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Bet is for ‘barvaz’ or ‘duck’

The principal driver of Hebrew language revival was the Russian-Jewish linguist, lexicographer, and editor, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858-1922). Born in Luzhki in the Vilna governorate (then in Lithuania, now in Belarus), Ben-Yehuda’s family hoped that he would become a rabbi.

The letter gimmel, ‘ג‎’, as represented on the 2001 set, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Gimmel is for ‘gesher’ or ‘bridge’

At the yeshiva he was sent to (an educational institution with a focus on Rabbinic literature), he was exposed to Hebrew secular writing, and later he learned, French, German, and Russian, and was sent to Daugavpils in Latvia for further education. Around this time, he learned of the Zionist movement.

The letter dalet, ‘ד‎‎’, as represented on the 2001 set, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation on the tab. Dalet is for ‘dag’ or ‘fish’

When he graduated in 1877, Ben-Yehuda went to Paris for four years, studying at the Sorbonne – the history and politics of the Middle East. In 1881, he emigrated to the ‘Land of Israel’, settling in Jerusalem and becoming teacher.

The letter hey, ‘ה‘, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Hey is for ‘har’ or ‘mountain’

Motivated by the idea of renewal and settling down and of rejecting the lifestyle of ‘diaspora’, he set about developing a ‘new’ Hebrew that would replace Yiddish and other regional dialects as a means of everyday communication among the Jewish population which had come from various places across the world.

The letter vav, ‘ו‎’, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Vav is for ‘vered’ or ‘rose’

As a result of the local movement he created, and as a result of yet more groups of immigrants coming to the country, Hebrew replaced a number of languages spoken by Jews at that time. Those were often Jewish dialects of local languages, including Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino), Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic, Tajiki, and also Russian, Persian and Arabic.

The letter zayin, ‘ז‎’, with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Zayin is for ‘ze’ev’ or ‘wolf’

The result of the work was a lexical modernization of Hebrew, with new words and expressions were adapted from the large body of Hebrew writing since the Hebrew Bible, or borrowed from Arabic (mainly by Ben-Yehuda) and older Aramaic and Latin.

The letter chet ‘ח’ with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Chet is for ‘chalav’ or ‘milk’

Many new words were either borrowed from or coined from European languages, especially English, Russian, German, and French. Modern Hebrew became an official language in British-ruled Palestine in 1921 (along with English and Arabic), and then in 1948 became an official language of the new State of Israel.

The letter tet ‘ט’ with the Proto-Sinaitic representation of the letter on the tab. Tet is for ‘tavas’ or ‘peacock’

The Hebrew alphabet (Alefbet ivri) is known as the Ktav Ashuri or Jewish script, or square-, or block- script. It is an abjad script, a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be deduced by the reader. Arabic and Aramaic are also written in abjad scripts.

This has been the first of three consecutive posts looking at the Hebrew alphabet. The next will come in March.

IV. Favourite Israeli stamps – Chosen from issues appearing in 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003, 2013, and in 2023

A PERSONAL SELECTION

Following on from a theme first selected in May 2020, namely, showing what we consider the best stamp of the year, and indeed the best of the last eight decades, here we are with our selections for 2023, 2013, 2003, 1993, 1983, 1973, 1963, and 1953.

The stamp chosen by us as best from the 2023 Israeli stamp issue (illustrated below), was the 3.30 NIS value ATM stamp, or postage label, celebrating 75 Years of Israeli Independence. Designed by Miri Nistor Sofer, the stamp was issued from 19 April 2023. We especially liked the link to the past – the early years of Israel in the 1940s and 50s – invoked by the water-tower, and we liked the chain dance (possibly), the lad wearing his kippah or yarmulke, the flag, and fireworks. There is a lot going on in the motif.

The selection from 2013 (below) is the 9.50 NIS stamp designed by P. Hamo and T. Kurz and issued on 2 April 2013, honoring the 70th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The stamp and tab bear the inscriptions, ‘Flags Over the Ghetto’ , and ‘Pawel Frenkel Jewish Military Organization, Warsaw (ZZW, Żydowski Związek Wojskowy)’, or Yidishe Militerishe Faraynikung. The stamp features Pawel Frenkel (1920-43), commander of the Jewish Military Organization, against the background of the building on Muranowski Square, Warsaw, that was set ablaze by the Germans. The Zionist and Polish flags raised by the ZZW fighters are visible on the roof. The portrait of Pawel Frenkel was painted by Gil Gibli (born 1957).

Could Frankel, the young fighter, have had any notion at that moment, that within five years of the Uprising, Jews would have their own state, and that sadly, 75 years later, when his generation were in their nineties, a new holocaust would unfold in southern Israel, 7 October 2023, starting yet another major war?

Designed by Zvika Roitman and issued on 9 September 2003, this 1.30 NIS stamp (below) from a set of three celebrating Festivals, and Jewish year 5764, and honoring the country’s olive oil production, is our favorite stamp from the 2003 issues. Olives are of course, one of the Biblical Seven Species that grow in abundance in Israel: ‘a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs and pomegranates, and land of olive trees and honey’ (Deuteronomy 8.8).

We like the oily shininess of the dark olives, captured so well on the stamp.The tab shows the gathering of olives, and the different varieties.

Our favorite stamp from 1993 is the 80 NIS stamp (below) designed by Y. Gavish, and issued on 22 August 1993. The stamp urges citizens to: Respect Your Elders. The stamp marks the International Day of the Elderly (1 October).

Israelis respect and esteem those who pioneered the state in the earlier decades and who now make up a significant part of the country’s elderly population. In Israel today, some 10 per cent of the total population (Jewish and non-Jewish) are elderly, that is: women over the age of 60, and men over the age of 65. Of these, 95 per cent live in normal community environments, and only about 5 per cent live in institutions on a long-term basis.

We liked the stamp for its tree motif, with old roots though still green, and with luscious foliage.

In 1983, Israel issued a set of stamps, honoring Israel Military Industries, and we especially liked the sleek lines of the Reshef class, fast missile boat, which was illustrated on the 18 Israeli Shekels value (below). Designed by Asher Kalderon, the set was issued on 13 December 1983.

Our choice from the 1973 Israeli stamp issue was the 5 Israeli Pounds value (below) marking the 30th Anniversary of the Rescue of Danish Jews, designed by Asaf Berg, and issued on 23 October 1973.

The rescue of Danish Jewry took place in a transfer to Sweden in October 1943. The country’s Jewish citizens plus 1,500 Jewish refugees – some 8,000 people altogether. Over two to three weeks, 7,200 men, women, and children were transferred to the safety of Sweden. Less than 500 were rounded up by the Germans and sent to Theresienstadt, but even then, the Danish government took steps to protect them, preventing transfer to Auschwitz.

The stamp depicting Jewish refugees being smuggled by boat was chosen because of its still modern design. The tab inscription is: ’30th Anniversary of the Rescue of the Jews in Denmark’. The stamp bears the same inscription in Danish.

Favorite stamp of 1963 is the 1 Israeli Pound value (below) designed by Cyla Menusy (Tzila Menosi) and Ch. Ornan, and issued on 16 December 1963. The stamp shows the luxury passenger vessel SS. ‘Shalom’ operated by the Israel Navigation Company, ZIM, between 1963 and 1967, and sailing from Haifa to New York.

The ship was of its time, with twin funnels adjacent and closer to the stern, similar to SS ‘Canberra’ in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997.The tab is decorated with a compass motif and the ZIM logo and flag.

Mid-20th century design is obvious in the favorite stamp from 1953, the 200 Prutot value designed by Abram Games, issued on 22 September 1953, and marking the ‘Conquest of the Desert’ Exhibition held in Jerusalem. The International Exhibition and Fair was dedicated to the reclamation and population of desert regions, and was the country’s first major exhibition as an independent state. 

The stamp shows the exhibition emblem, a hand, clutching a flower, rising from the desert. The inscription is: ‘The Conquest of the Desert’. The same motif appears on the tab with the inscription: ‘Jerusalem 1953’.

You may wish to read more about the Exhibition and Abram Games in the post from November 2018: Art, Artists, and Stamp designers month – Abram Games

The other three posts in the Favorite stamps series may also be of interest: III. Favourite Israeli stamps – Chosen from issues appearing in 2022 etc; II. Favourite Israeli stamps – Chosen from issues appearing in 2021 etc; and I. Favourite Israeli stamps – Chosen from issues appearing in 2020 etc

IV. Christmas on Israeli postal issue

CHRISTMAS – YULETIDE

Earlier posts have profiled Israeli ‘Christmas’ seasons’ greetings stamps issued over the years – variable value and ATM stamps.

Christmas or ‘Season’s Greetings’ stamp, 2010

The first ATM labels were dispensed from a Swiss Frama Machine on 17 November 1988 in values of 40, 60 and 70 Agorot. Then, from May 1990, German Klussendorf machines were introduced and these were in use until January 1999. In 1991 Massad labels were introduced.

Christmas or ‘Season’s Greetings’ stamp, 2013

New dispensing machines were introduced in 2004 [Sima or Doarmat] to replace Klussendorf machines.

ATM stamps are issued for public use from automatic self-service vending machines, or from counter machines from the post office employees.

Issued on 25 November 2020, the Christmas stamp was illustrated with the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth in a design by Ronen Goldberg

Western Christmas iconography continues to be utilized on Israeli ATM stamps. Including the greeting, ‘Season’s Greetings from the Holy Land’, they have been illustrated with angels, gift parcels, Christmas stars, baubles and other decorations, and falling snow.

Christmas or ‘Season’s Greetings’ stamp, issued 25 November 2021

In creating this post the following sources were used: (1) ‘Israel’, in the website of The Stamp Forum, 22 December 2013; (2) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation

If you have enjoyed reading this month’s post, you might like to have a look at the earlier ones as well: (1) III. Christmas stamps, 2022; (2) II. Christmas stamps, 2021; (3) I. Christmas stamps, 2020

VII – November – Art, Artists & Stamp designers month – Asher Kalderon (1929-2018)

AND THE AUTUMN LEAVES BEGIN TO FALL

As Israel once again finds itself in conflict with the Hamas terrorist organization, and as some in western countries and in Israel itself voice their opposition to the assault on Gaza – to civilian deaths in essence – this blog voices its support of Israel and Israelis at this difficult time, as the country’s best men and women fall in combat and are injured.

Let Israel prevail and be preserved.

Like graphic designer and artist, Dan Reisinger (1934-2019), Asher Kalderon was a participant in the six weeks, eighteen lesson course in stamp design for the Israeli post office led by Abram Games (1914-1996) from April 1956 at the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, in Jerusalem. More can be read about the course in the November 2018 blog post, about Abram Games.

A set of stamps designed by Asher Kalderon marking Israel’s 16th Independence Day showed research work carried out at the Weizmann Institute of Science at Rehovot, in biology and applied mathematics. The three stamps in the set were issued on 13 April 1964, with the 0.08 Israeli Pounds value featuring terrestrial spectroscopy, a new science forming part of geophysics

Born in Bulgaria in 1929, Asher Kalderon began studies in design, but interrupted these in 1948 to emigrate to Israel – as part of the Youth Aliyah (the resettlement of young people from Europe in Mandate Palestine) – and he settled initially at Kibbutz Beit Alpha in the northern district if Israel at the foot of Mount Gilboa.

Kalderon designed the 1969 Memorial Day stamp issued on 16 April. The 0.55 Israeli Pounds stamp showed the country’s flag at half-mast, and the tab featured the inscription: ‘Memorial Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Defense Army – 1969’

After a year, he began studying design again, this time at the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, and between 1951 and 1953 serving as a graphic designer with the IDF Training Command.

Rebekah featured as one of three Matriarchs of ancient Israel in a set of stamps designed by Kalderon and M. Pereg, and issued on 16 August 1977. The stamp with value 1.50 Israeli Pounds showed Rebekah, wife of Isaac, and mother of twins Esau and Jacob. She is seen on the stamp under the gaze of Abraham’s servant Eliezer who had come to find Isaac a wife

In 1953, Kalderon joined the Graphic Designers Association of Israel (GDAI), and in 1954 he was working in a private advertising agency.

On 13 December 1977 a miniature sheet was issued showing four stamps featuring railway locomotives designed by Kalderon

Between 1955 and 1960, he was back with the IDF, this time serving as a civilian employee in the headquarters of the Chief Engineering Officer, though in 1956 he attended Games’s course in stamp photogravure at the Bezalel.

Abraham featured as one of three Patriarchs of ancient Israel in a set of stamps designed by Kalderon and M. Pereg, and issued on 22 August 1978. The stamp with value 1.10 Israeli Pounds showed Abraham, first of the Hebrew Patriarchs and founder of the concept of monotheism. He is today revered and respected by other religions, notably the Christian and Muslim faiths. The stamp shows Abraham hugging his son Isaac who has been saved from being sacrificed

In 1960 he established an independent studio in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and over the years designed over 60 stamps for the Israeli Philatelic Service. Among his clients were government companies, and commercial companies, and he created a variety of designer product from symbols, posters and packaging, to the design of company logos.

In 1964 Kalderon took up internships in Switzerland and France.

Kalderon was the designer of a set of three stamps issued on 13 December 1983 celebrating Israeli military hardware. The 30 Israeli Shekels value featured the Merkava-Mk1 main battle tank. The vehicle was developed and designed in Israel, and although the engine is of American manufacture, most of the parts and systems are locally designed and produced

Kalderon’s style was influenced by post-1940s European design. He used bold colors and rounded lines, which were also expressed in the typography he created.

On 4 September 1984, a set of three stamps designed by Kalderon was issued, celebrating women in the Bible. The 100 Israeli Shekels value featured Huldah the 7th century BCE prophet. Living during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, she was the wife of Shallum, a man of noble descent, son of Tikvah, keeper of the king’s wardrobe – and a very distinguished position – while Huldah herself was held in high esteem for her wisdom and sage words. Tradition claims that Huldah conducted an institute of learning in Jerusalem, and that the Huldah Gates on the southern edge of the Temple enclosure led under the wall and up to the school house. The stamp shows Huldah reading a letter

Among other things, he created a logo for ‘Prili’ Yogurt, Keter Plastic (sheds and other heavy duty products), the (Israeli) Lottery, Solel Boneh (construction and civil engineering) and others.

The logo for ‘Prili’ yogurt designed by Kalderon’s design firm

Into the 1970s, Kalderon had become more religious, and motifs from Jewish culture began to appear in his work.

Kalderon was the designer of this 1.60 NIS stamp issued on 27 August 1991, marking the centenary of the JCA, the Jewish Colonization Association, founded by Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831-1896), a German-Jew, and financier and philanthropist. Initially the JCA had directed the emigration from Russia mainly to Argentina, Brazil and Canada, as Baron de Hirsch had been at first reluctant about helping the Yishuv (Jewish Settlement) in the ‘Land of Israel’, skeptical as he was of the feasibility of an autonomous entity being established there while it remained under Ottoman rule. Nevertheless, at the end of the century the JCA began to assist a number of agricultural villages and its work in the nascent Israel continued. The stamp shows a group of settlers and a portrait of Baron Maurice de Hirsch

Over several decades from the 1960s, Asher Kalderon designed a large number of stamps for the Israeli postal service. Motifs included those celebrating Biblical matriarchs and patriarchs and other religious themes, Independence Day, Memorial Day, New Year, Arbor Day, ceramics, Israeli industry, the Elah Valley ground station, and Hebrew University.

Issued on 18 April 1999, this 2.30 NIS stamp marking the 50th anniversary of Israel’s admission to the UN was designed by Kalderon. The stamp and tab shows the flag of Israel surrounded by other flag motifs. Israel was was admitted to the U.N. on 11 May 1949

He had also produced coins and medals, sculptures, decorative art objects, painting, art prints, illustrations, and wall tapestries. He was the designer of the Bank of Israel note – 10 NIS, orange-yellow-tan – commemorating the former prime minister Golda Meir (1898-1978) and introduced in 1985 (withdrawn from circulation 1999).

Asher Kalderon died on 31 October 2018… five years ago this month.

‘Bezalel’ ceramic tiles by Ze’ev Raban (1890-1970) were featured on a set of four stamps designed by Kalderon and issued on 17 July 2001. The stamps show four landscapes of Israel – Hebron, Jaffa, Haifa and Tiberias – that decorate the facade of the Ahad Ha’am Municipal Boys School, Tel Aviv, built in 1924. Two stamps from the set, with values of 2.30 NIS and 1.90 NIS are shown above, featuring Haifa and Tiberias. Haifa Bay and the Technion building appears on the tiles portraying Haifa, while a motorboat, named after the well-known Zionist leader,  Dr. Max Nordau (1849-1923), and used to transport Kurdish immigrants to Zemah (Samakh) from Tiberias appears on the representation of Tiberias. The tiled sets were created in the Bezalel School of Art workshop, Jerusalem

More posts about Israeli art and design can be found here: November 2022; November 2021; November 2020; November 2019; November 2018; and November 2017.

In the creation of this month’s blog, the following were utilized: (1) the website of A. Kalderon Arts; (2) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation; (3) the Information Center for Israeli Art

Theatre in Israel, and reflected on Israeli stamps

CELEBRATING ISRAELI STAGE, OPERA, DANCE, & MUSICAL THEATRE

Designed by D. Ben Hador, and issued on 19 December 2017, this 4.10 NIS stamp is one in a set of three featuring ancient Roman arenas. It is illustrated with the amphitheatre at Beit She’an

The National Theatre of Israel, or the Habima Theatre (Te’atron Ha-Bima, or ‘stage theatre’) on Habima Square, Tel Aviv, was founded in Białystok, Poland, in 1912, by Nachum Zemach (1887-1939), Menachem Gensin, and Hanna Rovina (1888-1980). Because the theatre invoked Jewish cultural tradition, the Russian authorities governing Poland at the time banned the company which was forced to become a traveling theatre.

Issued on 12 September 2017, this 2.40 NIS stamp designed by Rinat Gilboa marks the centenary of the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv. The stamp features a drawing of actress Hanna Rovina portraying the bride in ‘The Dybbuk’ in which she writes the play herself on a typewriter

After the revolution in 1917, the Soviet Union restricted the company’s autonomy – the Hebrew Language Theatre – and in 1926 it went touring abroad in Europe and the USA, finally splitting up with some of the company remaining in the USA.

Habima Theatre as depicted on the First Day Cover presenting the centenary stamp of September 2017

Others chose to go to British Mandate Palestine in 1928 with the actors deciding that the theatre would be managed as a collective with all its members equal owners and managers. The company presented Yiddish and Hebrew language plays, and in 1930 they travelled to Berlin, coming back to Palestine in 1931. In 1945, a theatre was built in Tel Aviv, and from 1958 it was considered the National Theatre of Israel.

On their arrival in Palestine, they would have been aware of the already established Ohel Theatre, founded in 1925 by Moshe Halevy (1895-1974), and also known originally as the Workers’ Theatre of Palestine.

E. Weishoff was the designer of a set of three stamps honoring Israeli arts companies, issued on 16 February 1971. The 0.50 Israeli Pounds stamp featured the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv and depicted a scene from ‘Inn of the ghosts’… also featured in the tab are the masks, ‘comedy’ and ‘tragedy’

The year before, in 1944, the Cameri Theatre (Ha-Teatron Ha-Kameri) was founded in Tel Aviv by Joseph Millo (1916-1997), putting on local plays. Today its home is the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre.

The Israel National Opera featured on another 0.50 Israeli Pounds value in the 1971 set designed by Weishoff. The opera, ‘Samson and Delilah’ is depicted in the motif

In 1947, the Israel National Opera Company was founded in Tel Aviv by Edis de Phillippe (1912-1979) staging performances in early years of production at the Habima Theatre, thereafter to its own hall. It closed in 1982 though the New Israeli Opera was founded in 1985.

Weishoff’s 1971 set also honoured the Inbal Dance Theatre, and the stamp showed a scene from ‘A Psalm of David’

In 1949, the Inbal Dance Theatre (Teatron Makhol Inbal) was founded by Sara Levi-Tanai (1910-2005), the company choreographer.

D. Ben Hador was again the designer of a 4.60 NIS stamp issued jointly in Romania and Israel on 26 November 2009 honoring the Yiddish Theatre in Romania. The stamp features, on the tab, a portrait of Abraham ‘Avrom’ Goldfaden, founder of the company, and on the stamp itself, a scene from the Goldfaden play, ‘The Two Kuni-Lemls’, or ‘The flying matchmaker’

Jewish theatre as a whole had an even earlier start than the Habima and Cameri Theatres, through Yiddish theatre, in Romania in the 1870s. In Iași (Jassy), Romanian Moldavia, Avrom Goldfaden (1840-1908) put on the first play improvised in Yiddish, becoming the founder of modern Jewish theatre.

Moshe Halevy (1895-1974) founder of the Ohel Theatre was featured in a set of four stamps celebrating Israeli theatre directors, two with a value of 2.20 NIS and two with a 6.20 NIS value, designed by M. Pereg and issued on 27 December 2005. The stamp features a scene from the Halevy production of ‘Jacob and Rachel’

Orthodox Jews were appalled and rejected ‘theatre’ but Goldfaden dedicated himself to his project, merging the folkloristic roots of Jewish culture with modern European ideas and influenced by Russo-European melodrama and operetta. In 1883 his company was disbanded after a Tsarist order banning the production of Yiddish plays across the empire.

Joseph Millo (1916-1997) is also featured in the M. Pereg set issued in 2005. It shows Millo’s production of ‘He walked in the fields’

Of course, in the earlier if not ancient history of the country, theatre existed and plays had been performed. In the Roman period over dozens of theatres – elliptic amphitheaters – were built in what would become, some 2,000 years later, modern Israel, examples being those at Beit She’an in the northern district, Caesarea also in the north , and Beit Guvrin close to the West Bank, east of Kiryat Gat, in the Lakhish region.

One of the 6.20 NIS values designed by M. Pereg shows the Jerusalem-born director and stage and screen actor, and mime, Shaike Ophir (1928-1987). The motif features his production, ‘About Masks and People – A Pantomime Festival’

The other 6.20 NIS value features Nissim Aloni (1926-1998) and his production, ‘The gypsies of Jaffa’

Whereas in Roman times, entertainment at the arena consisted of plays, gladiator fights, and chariot races, in modern times the theatre entertainments offered were stage produced drama, opera, dance, and musicals.

Zvika Roitman was the designer of two stamps celebrating Israeli personalities from the world of entertainment issued on 8 December 2015. One of them, this 4.10 NIS value, featured actress, comedian and theater personality, Hanna Marron (1923-2014) a member of the Habima theatre company and then the Cameri theatre company. Marron played key roles in classic drama first translated or performed in Hebrew (including major works by Shakespeare, Schiller, Ibsen, Chekhov, Seneca, Wilde, Bernard Shaw, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Jean Anouilh, Beckett and Pinter) as well as classic plays by Israeli playwright. She also had numerous film roles. In 1970, she lost a leg in a terrorist incident at Munich Airport

Roitman’s 2.30 NIS value in the 2015 set featured actor, comedian, and virtuos, Sefi Rivlin (1947-2013) who took a wide range of roles in the theatre, film, musicals, one-man shows, and television series. Rivlin had been a member of the new Khan Theater group, Jerusalem, when it was founded in 1973 

50-years on from the first production of Fiddler on the roof on Broadway, New York, in 1964, the musical telling the story of Tevya the Dairyman, and written by Sholem Alecheim (1859-1916), was again on the stage in Tel Aviv being performed in Hebrew.

One in a set of three stamps with values of 3.10 NIS designed by Cahim Topol and Miri Ni, and honoring the 50th anniversary of the musical ‘Fiddler on the roof’

Indeed, after its premier on Broadway, the first performance of Fiddler on the roof to take place in another country and in another language was Israel – in Hebrew – in 1965.

3.10 NIS designed by Cahim Topol and Miri Ni, and honoring the 50th anniversary of the musical ‘Fiddler on the roof’

On Broadway, the lead role of Tevya had been taken by Zero Mostel (1915-1977), and in Israel it had been Yossef ‘Bomba’ Tzur (1928-1979), Shmuel Rodensky (1902-1989), and Chaim Topol (1935-2023). Topol also played Tevya on the London stage, becoming a well-known face on UK television, and in the theatre in the USA, Japan, and Australia.

3.10 NIS designed by Cahim Topol and Miri Ni, and honoring the 50th anniversary of the musical ‘Fiddler on the roof’

Drawings by Topol were used in the motif for the celebratory Israeli stamps honoring 50-years of Fiddler on the roof, issued on 9 September 2014.

If you have enjoyed reading this post you may like to read one appearing in October 2020 on Israeli film, Cinema and film, cinemas and film stars on Israeli postage stamps.

In the creation of this post, the following sources were used: (1) Israel Philatelic Federation

II. Birds on Israeli postage stamps

…catching the worm…

This is the second post about the birdlife of Israel. The first was published in October 2022, and entitled I. Birds on Israel postage stamps. Readers may wish to look at it in conjunction with this visit to the blog.

Israel’s geographical location adjacent to three continents has provided the country with a very varied bird life – birds inhabiting urban, coastal, plain, lake, marshland, desert, and upland terrains – and both wintering birds, and breeding species.

Since 1963 and the issue of a set of airmail stamps between February and October that year, Israeli birdlife has been celebrated on the country’s postage stamps over every succeeding decade.

On 25 April 1963, the airmail series was added to with 5 Agorot, 20 Agorot, and 28 Agorot values, supplementing the stamps issued on 13 February that year – the 55 Agorot, 70 Agorot, and 1 Israeli Pound values featured in the earlier birds blog post (October 2022).

The 5 Agorot stamp (below) was illustrated with the Sinai Rosefinch (Erythrena sinoica) nesting in rocks in the southern Negev. The finch is endemic in Israel and Jordan.

Designed by Miriam Karoly this 5 Agorot airmail stamp issued on 25 April 1963 featured the Sinai Rosefinch

The 20 Agorot value showed the Smyrna Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) resident in northern and central Israel (shown below).

The 20 Agorot value airmail stamp designed by Miriam Karoly

Also issued in April 1963 was the 28 Agorot value (below) which featured the Mourning Wheater , or Oenanthe lugens (of the Chat family), found in the stones and rocks of Judea and the Negev, where it nests in rock-clefts. Chats are closely related to the thrush.

Karoly’s 28 Agorot value featuring the Mourning Wheatear

On 14 October 1975, a set of three stamps (shown below) designed by W. Ferguson were issued to profile Israels protected wild birds – in this case ‘red listed’ wading birds (waders) whose numbers had been drastically reduced and in danger of destruction.

Ferguson’s rendering of the Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) the ‘red listed’ wader featured on the 1.10 Israeli Pounds value issued in October 1975

Another ‘red listed’ wader, the (Hoplopterus spinosus) featured on the 1.70 Israeli Pounds stamp issued in October 1975

The 2.00 Israeli Pounds value in the protected wild birds series was illustrated with the ‘red listed’ Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Biblical birds were again featured in Israeli stamp issue on 24 February 1987 – as they had been in 1985 – but this time showing Owls (Strigiformes). Designed by A. Glaser, the three stamp set showed the Eagle Owl, Bruce’s Scops Owl, the Barn Owl, and Hume’s Tawny Owl.

The Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) featured on the 0.30 NIS value is the largest of Israel’s Owls. It nests among steep slopes in rocky areas, in the desert regions, and in the north of the country

The 0.40 NIS stamp is illustrated with Bruce’s Stops Owl (Outs brucei) which is the smallest of Israel’s Owls. The population in the country is not precisely known

The Barn Owl (Tito alba) is shown on the 0.50 NIS stamp. The bird lives close to human rural habitation, in attics or deserted cisterns, or among the rafters of cattle-sheds and chicken-coops

The 0.80 NIS value shows Hume’s Tawny Owl (Strix butleri) which is believed to be one of the world’s rarest desert birds. In Israel it is found in the Judean Wilderness and Negev Desert, in almost any steep-sloped ravine where water is available. Bird-watchers assemble at Ein Gedi just west of the Dead Sea (close to Masada and the Qumran caves) to view the Owl at close range

On 24 February 1987 owls featured in the Bible were illustrated on a four stamp souvenir sheet. The designer was A. Glaser

Designed by J. Smith and first issued in 1992 with later printings, a definitive series of stamps featuring songbirds came out. In the blog post of October 2022, the 0.10 NIS, the 0.20 NIS, and 0.30 NIS values were shown. Below, the 0.50 NIS, the 0.85 NIS, and the 0.90 NIS values appear, illustrated with the Palestinian Sunbird, the Sinai Rosefinch, and the Swallow.

The Palestinian Sunbird (Nectarine osea)

Sinai Rosefinch (Carpodacus synoicus)

The Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

In the creation of this second post about Israel’s birdlife on postage stamps, the following resources were utilized: (1) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation

III. The Israeli flag on the country’s stamps: 75 years of the Israeli state – דגל ישראל – Degel Yīsraʾel

The Israeli national flag has appeared as part of the motif on celebratory and definitive stamps of the country since 1949, followed by issue in 1966, 1969, 1974, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2015, all of which had been shown in two earlier posts to this blog – May and June 2023.

This July post continues with the same flags theme, beginning with a 2016 issue.

That year, a 2.30 NIS stamp (below) was issued on 13 September to honour casualties of war and terror. The first day cover (not shown here) bore words from the poem ‘Creed’ by Shaul Tchernichovsky (1875-1943).

Earlier, in July 2014, the Israeli government announced that the Hebrew calendar date 17 Kislev would be recognized as the annual Casualties of War and Terror Appreciation Day..

Designed by Ronen Goldberg and issued on 4 April 2017, a 2.40 NIS stamp (shown above) celebrated 50 years of settling in the Golan, the Jordan Valley, and in Judea and Samaria. The stamp was illustrated with an olive branch against the background of a group of youths at the Sebastia train station (Ottoman period) in the Nablus Governorate of modern Palestine. The tab was illustrated with the ruins of the Herodian in the Bethlehem Governorate.

Issued on 9 April 2018 with a design by Tel Hoover, this 5 NIS stamp (above) marked the 70th anniversary of Israeli independence. Both the stamp and the tab were illustrated with nods to Israeli achievement in science, technology, communication, satellites, irrigation, agriculture, and media, and also to the wellbeing of the country’s citizens and their leisure time. An accompanying souvenir leaf (below) bearing the stamp showed motifs in the same vein

Meir Eshel was the designer of the 4.10 NIS stamp (below) issued on 4 February 2020. This stamp marked the centennial of Keren Hayesod / United Israel Appeal, UIA.

Keren  Hayesod  is  the  world’s  leading  fundraising  organization for the people of Israel. The organization strengthens  the  connection  between Israelis and Jewish communities around the world, and helps to express their commitment  by  contributing  funds  to  activities,  projects  and  enterprises in the country. 

Designed by Osnat Eshel and issued on 30 November 2021, this 11.70 NIS stamp (below) celebrated all those involved in the fight against Covid-19.

The SARS-CoV-2 corona virus was discovered in China in December 2019 and in February 2020, it spread quickly throughout the world with Israel recording its first confirmed case on 21 February 2020. 

The Israeli flag forms a face mask over a heart shape cupped in hands protected by latex protective gloves. The tab shows the Covid-19 virus in magnification.

The definitive stamp featuring the Israeli flag, issued on 21 November 2010, was integral to a sheet of twelve (above) coming out on 1 March 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of the killing of eleven Israeli sportsmen, judge, referee, and coaches at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich in September 1972 – a hostage crisis.

The dead were: Moshe Weinberg, wrestling coach; Yossef Romano, weightlifter; Ze’ev Friedman, weightlifter; David Berger, weightlifter; Yakov Springer, weightlifting judge; Eliezer Halfin, wrestler; Yossef Gutfreund, wrestling judge; Kehat Shorr, shooting coach; Mark Slavin, wrestler; Andre Spitzer, fencing coach; and Amitzur Shapira, track coach.

Similarly, a sheet of nine stamps, again featuring the flag definitive stamp, was issued on 18 October 2022 to mark 50 years of military/IDF ombudsmen.

Designed by D. Ben Hador and issued on 15 February 2022, this 11.70 NIS stamp (above) celebrated the centennial of the Farmers’ Federation of Israel.

Founded in 1922, the Federation was the first settlement movement established in the country (then under British Mandate), and today it unites thousands of private farmers from agricultural communities across modern Israel.

Th Federation founded the Pardes Hanna Agricultural High School, Pardes Hanna-Karkur, in the Haifa District, in 1935, and the People’s Medical Fund (Kupat Holim Ammamit), and also a newsletter. In the 1970s, it worked to establish new agricultural colonies including Karmei Yosef, Gilon, Vered Hagalil, Kadita, and Kidmat Tzvi.

The stamp is illustrated with a tablet screen showing icons symbolizing the different work of a farmer – work that combines traditional manual labour with modern technology. Represented on the screen are: local produce, climate monitoring, agricultural drones, a tractor, fruit and vegetables, and water reclamation. The tab shows the Federation logo and motto: ‘If there is agriculture here – the Homeland is here’.

Osnat Eshel was again the designer of the 7.40 NIS stamp issued on 28 June 2022 to celebrate Christians who stand for Israel.

Christians have seen in Israel a faithful ally in the modern world with whom common values are shared: faith and a common Judeo-Christian heritage, love of freedom, and the belief that freedom is best secured through a democratic political system. And… perhaps because some Christians see their support as atonement for millennia of Jewish persecution at their hands… maybe facing up to the most shameful chapters of Christian history and putting things right.

The stamp shows Christian and Jewish hands joined together against the background of the Israeli flag. The tab inscription reads: ‘I will bless those who bless you’ (Genesis 12:3).

In the preparation of this blog the resources of the following were used: (1) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation

If you have enjoyed reading this month’s blog, you may also want to check out: I. The Israeli flag on the country’s stamps, and II. The Israeli flag on the country’s stamps

II. The Israeli flag on the country’s stamps: 75 years of the Israeli state – דגל ישראל – Degel Yīsraʾel

The blue and white national flag bearing the Star of David hexagram, or Magen David (the Shield of David) was adopted by the new state on 28 October 1948.

Over the decades since 1949, when it appeared on the stamp marking the 1st Anniversary of Independence, the Israeli flag had featured as a motif on several stamp issues. A number were shown in the first of these three blogs, May 2023, some more will be shown below, and next month, In July, there will be some more.

Last month, stamps from 1949, 1966, 1969, 1974, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 were shown and this month, the first is from 2003.

Designed by Eitan Hendel and issued on 27 April 2003, the 5.90 NIS stamp (above) celebrated Israel’s 55th Independence Day. The stamp offers many different colours symbolizing the festive atmosphere of the day, and representing the cultural and social mosaic making up the State of Israel.

Hendel was born in 1958 and is a graduate of the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem with his own graphic design company in Tel Aviv. He designed the Israeli Kennel Club logo, and that of the Israel Postal Authority.

Also in 2003, Israel issued a four stamp set featuring the flag of the country in its various guises in early years, with the 5.90 NIS value (above) showing the flag adopted in 1948. The stamp was designed by Ad Vanooijen and was issued on 24 June 2003. It features a  photograph of the celebrations in Tel Aviv after the UN’s decision on the establishment of the State of Israel in November 1947.

The Israeli flag with its Star of David motif again appeared on a 3.60 NIS value (above) designed by Shechter Hadar and issued on 25 July 2006. The stamp marked 100 Years of Religious Zionist Education. The stamp shows a segment of a photograph of a religious Zionist education class, and portraits of the founders of religious Zionist education against a background of the Israeli flag, namely: Rabbi Judah Leib Fishman-Maimon (1875-1962), and Rabbi Isaac Jacob Reines (1839-1915).   The body of the stamp and the tab display a photograph of the first religious Zionist school – ‘Tahkemoni’.  The inscription on the tab reads:  ‘To raise and educate our sons and daughters in Torah and good deeds, and to implant in their tender hearts the love of Zion and the hope for the return of its exiles’. This taken from  a manifesto prepared by Rabbi Ze’ev Yavetz (1847-1924) for the founding conference of Mizrachi (a religious Zionist organization founded in 1902 in Vilnius, Lithuania) at the request of its founder, Rabbi Reines. 

Designed by D. Ben Hador and issued on 28 April 2008, this 2.80 NIS stamp (above) marked the 50th Anniversary of the Israel Export Institute. Exports constitute a central component in Israel’s economic strength and growth. The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute (IEICI) was founded as a non-profit organization in 1958, with the objective of promoting Israel’s industrial and service exports and to develop commercial ties, collaborations and strategic alliances with foreign companies.

In 2008, the ‘modern Israeli’ wearing a US-style peaked cap rather than the traditional rendering of the cartoon hero, Srulik, appeared on Israeli postal issue, this time on booklet adhesive stamps. The stamp (above) was designed by Eli Carmeli and issued on 18 April 2008.

Designed by Osnat Eshel and issued on 21 November 2010 a definitive stamp appeared with the Israeli flag (above).

Also in 2010, the flag was a central motif on the 6.70 NIS stamp issued on 27 January that year. It was designed again by Osnat Eshel, with photographic work by Karen Gillerman Harel, to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In November 2005 the UN General Assembly had adopted resolution 60/7, designating 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Designed by R. Goldenberg and issued on 12 December 2012, a 9.50 NIS stamp (above) marked 50 years since the production by the late master typographer Eliyahu Koren (1907-2001) of the first Jewish Bible edited, designed and produced by Jews in nearly 500 years. The Koren Bible corrected typographical errors that had made their way into earlier editions, creating clarity of layout and crafting a special font to symbolize the rebirth of the Hebrew language in modern times.

Sheet of definitive stamps – first appearing in 2010 – celebrating the 2nd Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv and Haifa (swimming), April 1935, issued on 7 September 2015 (above).

In the preparation of this month’s blog the following resources were used: (1) the website of the Israel Philatelic Federation