Foto Friday – Tu b’Shvat is here!
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Holidays, Israeliness, Picture of the Week, Travel
Tu B’Shvat, the New Year for Trees is upon us! The almond trees are in full bloom.
© Barak Sekeles
For those who live in cold climates and can’t get here in time…
© SOBO Dan
…here are some amazing images of pinky-white blossoms against brilliant blue skies.
Photo by Ester Inbar, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Last week was cold and rainy…
Photo by Eli Zahavi, courtesy of Piki Wiki Israel via Wikimedia Commons
…and given this winter’s wacky weather, who knows what next week could bring…
Photo by Ester Inbar, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
…but this weekend we will enjoy ourselves the warm holiday sunshine.
Photo by Dror K, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
I’m a Groundhog’s Day baby, so believe me when I say: only 6 more weeks till spring!
© SOBO Dan
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”.
Foto Friday
Head to Holon, Israel’s new cultural mecca, to view the photographs of Meir Paz, and what he sees in the peeling bark of the eucalyptus tree. The trees aren’t native to Israel, but were planted in great numbers at the turn of the century because of their ability to drain swamps, create shady forests and supply wood.
These elegant trees lose their bark gradually over time, and as a result, comments Paz on trekearth, one can see naturally carved shapes on their trunks — kind of like images in the clouds — that can look like people, animals and other abstract forms. Paz was so fascinated by this when he discovered the phenomenon that he goes back “again and again to spend hours near them in order to photograph and commemorate their special appearance.”
“Face of the Eucalyptus” will be shown at the Holon Theater, Yad Lebanim, 11 Kugel Avenue, Holon, opening September 4.
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