Israel Stamp Reviews

NetBul 2021: Virtual National Stamp Exhibition was launched on March 1st as Israel's first philatelic exhibition to be held entirely online. Organized by the Israel Philatelic Federation (התאחדות בולאי ישראל) and lasting for the duration of the month, it featured seventeen exhibits put together by twelve exhibitors in five classes: Postal History (3), Thematic Philately (6), Maximum Cards (1), Picture Postcards (4), and Modern Philately (3). Exhibit sizes ranged from one frame to six. Fourteen exhibits were in English; three were in Hebrew. The first official notice that preparations were underway for a major Israeli philatelic event and that the event would be virtual in nature came in the October 2020 issue of the Israel Philatelic Federation's quarterly publication, Shovel (No. 119). At the time, late September and early October, SARS-CoV-2 infection rates in Israel were soaring, outdoor movement was restricted, in-person gatherings were prohibited, and an online exhib...

33rd Conference of Israeli Philatelists | כנס יום הבולאות The 33rd Conference of Israeli Philatelists was held on 25 December 2019 at the Sheraton Hotel in Tel Aviv. Organized by the Israel Philatelic Federation , the event featured seven speakers and numerous award ceremonies and included a raffle and an auction. Each event attendee was given a limited-edition souvenir leaf with a uniquely CTOed 2019 Weizmann Institute stamp prepared exclusively for the event. A light breakfast buffet was laid out as guests made their way to the conference area, mingled and rushed to save seats in the conference hall. Eli Weber | אלי ובר First to address the audience was Eli Weber, president of the Israel Philatelic Federation. The theme of his talk was the future -- the future of philatelic exhibitions, of philatelic research, of authentication methods, of device technologies, and of commerce. As a potential model for the future, Weber cited an exhibition two years ago in Finland at wh...

Earlier this week I paid my first visit to the offices of the Israel Philatelic Federation in Tel Aviv. My main reason for visiting was to become a member of the Federation, since doing so unlocks a range of benefits that collectors otherwise don't have full access to, such as a quarterly magazine, a library, and reduced admission fees to events. This won't be an in-depth report on the Federation, its staff or its activities -- that I'll save for a later date -- but a few brief impressions accompanied by photos to convey a sense of what my visit was like. The Israel Philatelic Federation is located in an office building at the corner of Tel Aviv's Allenby and Pinsker Streets, just a couple blocks east of the beach. The building exterior is run-down and makes for a poor first impression -- an AM:PM supermarket occupies most of the ground floor -- but it is typical of the area and belies the more cheerful surroundings that await once inside the building and after clim...