Nostalgia Sunday – JNF-KKL stamp club
Filed under: Environment, General, History and Culture, Nostalgia Sunday, Travel
About a week and a half ago, an event took place at the Jewish National Fund House in Tel Aviv that might be termed historic: the revival of the JNF-KKL stamp collectors club.
Most people know that the Jewish National Fund – Keren Kayemet (JNF-KKL) raises funds using the trusty old Blue Box method of coin collection — in addition to Tree Planting Certificates and Soliciting Big Donations. But few today remember that the JNF-KKL also issued and sold stamps which, for a brief period in May 1948, were actually used as postage stamps in the newborn State of Israel.
Here’s what happened the other night, according to Dr. Arie Ben, founder and director of the JNF House museum and educational center. “The [stamp collector] group members, who came from all parts of the country, first visited our museum, which is celebrating 21 years of activity… Attending the gathering was a collector who is a pediatrician by trade, a retired academic from the Weizmann Institute who for years was a plant scientist, and a diplomat from Israel’s foreign service. Another of those present had set up a unique website offering information and collectors items for sale… we were also honored by the presence of a 92-year old collector who showed me a picture of the first meeting of the JNF-KKL collectors club… At the end of the evening, it was decided to revive the legendary ‘JNF-KKL stamp collectors club’, which was first founded in 1937 and held its first gathering in the JNF House meeting room, only days after being founded.”
The stamps hold a special place of honor in JNF-KKL history and the museum has an exhibition of stamps based on Ben’s research into 108 years of the organization’s activity. The JNF House itself, which includes the museum (also known as The Provisional People’s Council & Administration Museum), is a classic example of 20th century Tel Aviv Bauhaus architecture, and is located at 11 Zvi Shapira St., Tel Aviv, walking distance from the Dizengoff Center.
JNF-KKL’s online archive is also a treasure trove for the interested philatelist and include images of artist sketches for the stamps, as well as the stamps themselves. Another great source: the Sol Singer Collection of Philatelic Judaica.
Nostalgia Sunday – Blue Box Redux
Filed under: Environment, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Pop Culture
Here’s a fun fact: Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with more trees than it had at the beginning of the 20th century. For years, tree-planting in Israel was synonymous with the Jewish National Fund, which itself was synonymous with the small blue coin collection tin. Some of these are now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, as part of an exhibit entitled The Map of Israel as Illustration, Artwork, and Icon.
The exhibit, curated by Orna Granot, looks at the map not in geopolitical terms but as a graphic element used “to increase the viewer’s familiarity with the land [of Israel] and to strengthen love of the land in experiential, educational, and aesthetic ways”.
Etzleinu be-Khitah Alef (In Our First Grade) by Shlomo Kadesh, Illustrations: Shlomo Cohen; Ever Publishers, Jerusalem, 1952. Courtesy of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Of course, the Blue Box is a wonderful icon in itself. So much so that Keren Kayemet-JNF, has re-launched the beloved “pushke” after a 30-year absence. This time though, says KKL-JNF world chairman Efi Stenzler, rather than land acquisition, the coins collected will go to furthering Israeli environmental conservation projects. As part of the relaunch, Stenzler has been distributing Blue Boxes to dignitaries of note, including Pope Benedict XVI, who plans to visit Israel in May.
Given the season – political, not meteorological – Israeli party candidates have been also been getting on the KKL-JNF bandwagon. Benjamin Netanyahu today planted one of 7 million saplings KKL-JNF has planned for the next several years. And here’s Ehud Barak with his 2009 model pushke.
The KKL-JNF website has a lovely timeline of Blue Boxes throughout history – it’s in Hebrew only but definitely worth a look.
It’s also a good opportunity to plant a tree in honor of Tu B’Shvat and to take a moment to consider Israel’s green future and how to best “strengthen love of the land”.
The cleaner the better
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, Environment
Many of us were raised singing songs about how we should “Clean up / Clean up / Everybody everywhere,” but we might not have thought about that on a global scale until around the time Al Gore won an Oscar.
When Clean Up Australia merged with the United Nations Environment Programme in 1993, Clean Up the World was born. Held each fall, member communities participate in Clean Up the World Day, with over 35 million people picking garbage out of their neighborhoods’ flora, fauna, beaches, urban landscapes, etc.
Locally, grassroots efforts to clean up after our less conscientious peers have been active for years, but never institutionalized on a major scale.
With a statement from President Shimon Peres that we ought to “Take the broom and together we will make Israel clean, healthy and green,” the Israeli government (in partnership with the JNF) kicked off its own version of International Cleaning Day one day just over a year ago.
As part of that campaign, which enlisted the help of some 17,000 local volunteers, the JNF organized a mixed crew of Jews and Muslims in the Bedouin village of Rahat for some collecting of strewn garbage. Talal al-Qarnawi, Rahat’s mayor, was glowing at the time:
“JNF not only plants trees, it spreads love between people with a common goal. Today, when Jewish and Bedouin children cleaned the streets of Rahat with their green garbage bags, I saw how much this meant for the residents of my city. JNF is building our common future, and together we will create a better and cleaner Negev for all to share.”
Now Israel’s National Cleaning Day is becoming even more official, according to a recent report on YNet. This week, the Knesset ratified a law to involve the national government in 2009′s festivities, enlisting students, civil servants and IDF conscripts to help in the efforts – which will involve not only actual cleaning up, but also educational activities aimed at minimizing 2010′s workload.
Image courtesy Eitan B from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
Foto Friday – Israel’s National Photo Collection
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture, Travel
Ten years ago, at the time of Israel’s jubilee anniversary celebration, the Government Press Office launched a unique website of its images archive. The National Photo Collection is indeed the personal photo album of the State of Israel and it is an amazing if somewhat overlooked trove of treasure for anyone interested in Israeli history – political, social and cultural. Personally, I go for the pop culture, so here are three images from the 60s and 70s of glamorous celebrities visiting and supporting Israel. There are plenty more.
Sophia Loren Arriving at Lod Airport For Filming of the Movie “Judith” In Israel, 1964
Photograph: Fritz Cohen. Israel GPO National Photo Collection
Film Stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Visiting Western Wall Plaza In Jerusalem, 1975
Photograph: Sa’ar Ya’acov, Israel GPO National Photo Collection
Hollywood Singer And Actress Diana Ross Making P.M. Itzhak Rabin Join In Her Song During The ‘Salute To Israel’ Gala Dinner In Los Angeles, 1976
Photograph: Sa’ar Ya’acov, Israel GPO National Photo Collection
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