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...

On Monday, March 1st, Israel Post announced the launch of a direct postal route, for the first time in history, between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain. The announcement followed January 20th's equally historic launch of a direct postal route between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Both came on the heels of the Abraham Accords, signed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in August 2020. When the Israel-UAE postal route was launched, Israel was under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 infection rates were setting new records daily, schools and stores were closed, and leaving the house beyond a radius of one kilometer was permitted only in special cases. Nevertheless, on the same day the Israel-UAE postal route debuted, I was able to reach a post office in walking distance from my neighborhood and send four pieces of mail to a contact in Dubai. Would I be able to replicate that success this time around with mail to Bahrain? The good news w...

The " Ludwig van Beethoven, 250 Years " stamp was issued by Israel Post on 15 December 2020 to mark the semiquincentennial of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth. Face valued at ₪11.80, corresponding to the postage rate for domestic priority 100-300g mail, the stamp depicts an image of Beethoven based on a portrait of him by Joseph Karl Stieler and the iconic opening notes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. The tab below the stamp proper illustrates the opening notes of Symphony No. 5's second subject and features a "Philately Day" inscription indicating that proceeds from the stamp's sale go to the Philately Promotion Foundation. Gray is the stamp's dominant color. It was designed by Zvika Roitman (צביקה רויטמן), who has been a stamp designer with Israel Post since 2003. בולים של מוצארט, באך J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart stamps Israel Post (2000, 1991) Beethoven was born on 17 December 1770 and, along with Bach (1685-1750) and Mozart (175...

2020 was, in one word, a frustrating year. Plans unraveled, goals weren't reached, and it was often the case that preparations made one day were rendered irrelevant the next. It was a year whose engine never really got started but in some ways still hasn't cooled off. Along with the setbacks, however, there were moments of triumph; and along with the disappointments, rewards. Last year this second paragraph was devoted to an overview of my collection, but that too fell apart as I abandoned Colnect for personal reasons and haven't found a viable alternative since. Moreover, despite my best efforts to regulate my philatelic intake, which included avoiding ordering 2020 stamps from Iceland, Armenia and Azerbaijan, among other countries, stamps still penetrated my defenses at a rate faster than they could be properly accommodated. Philatelic world news 2020 was a year of record news consumption. 1 The main stories trending and making headlines had to do with the gl...