NEWS'

ake
your
kids
to court.

JNF Stamps Grow
In History, Value

YEHONATHAN TOMMER

Special to The Jewish News

j

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•

is open to members and non-members alike. GeareCto those
between the ages of 5 and 18, instruction is provided on an
individual basis at all levels. Sessions fill up rapidly, so call and
register today or stop by at 29350 Northwestern, just west of
Franklin Road in Southfield.

Fall Session Begins
September 8

To register, or for more information, call: 352-8000
Ext. 38.

FRANKLIN

Fitness & Racquet Club

WE'RE FIGHTING FOR
YOUR LIFE

American Heart
Association

WE TAKE EXCEPTION
TO WHAT YOUR
MOTHER TAUGHT
YOU.

YOU SHOULDN'T EAT
EVERYTHING PUT IN
FRONT OF YOU.
You should avoid foods high in
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stantially increases your
chances of developing heart
disease. By cutting down on
fatty, rich foods, you can do
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lower your blood cholesterol
level and reduce your risk of
heart disease.

For more information about a
planned and balanced diet, -
contact your American Heart
Association. We'll give you
some free advice on how to
plan a diet good for life.

62

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1989

ewish National Fund
stamps are certainly
among the oldest and
most colorful chronicles of
early Zionist history.
The first stamp, issued in
Vienna — the 1902 Zion
stamp — depicted the word
"Zion" set within a blue Star
of David. Says Gideon Lehrs,
director of the JNF stamp
department, "JNF stamps
have since traveled far along
the drama-strewn path of
Jewish national rebirth, im-
mortalizing the founders and
leaders of the Zionist move-
ment, - Jewish ideologists,
religious leaders, writers, ar-
tists • and Nazi resistance
fighters."
Other stamps have shown
themes in Zionist settlement
in Israel, geographical and
historical sites and symbols of
Jewish community life and
tradition in the Diaspora.
"Our stamps are making a
significant and prestigious
contribution to Jewish art
and culture," Lehrs said, "and
their beauty, together with
their controlled numbers on
the collectors' market, have
stimulated intense interna-
tional interest in them among
- the world's philatelists."
Apart from their artistic
and historic value, JNF
stamps have been widely us-
ed. The 21st Zionist Congress
obliged all national Zionist
organizations to affix a JNF
stamp to their mail, alongside
regular postage stamps. In
Turkish-ruled Palestine dur-
ing World War I, JNF stamps
were affixed to letters sent
between Jewish settlements.
Years later, during a three-
week period between the end
of the British Mandate and
the proclamation of the State
of Israel by the Provisional
State Council, JNF stamps;
stamped by the Post Office
mark, served as regular
postage stamps until the first
Israel government stamps
were issued.
Over the years, JNF stamps
have conveyed information
about Israel's history and
development. The Stamp
Department was extensively
reorganized in 1972 and a
public advisory council was
established. Since 1983, it
has operated as a self-
sustaining economic unit.
"The world philatelic
market is generally declining,
but JNF stamps are fetching
handsome collector's prices.
We are very proud of this

trend," Lehrs said. Market
price lists are published
periodically and the depart-
ment regularly informs its
subscribers and other collec-
tors, as well as philatelic
organizations around the
world, of recent issues.
Brochures bearing sheets for
mounting stamps and useful
philatelic information in
Hebrew and English are cur-
rently being prepared, along
with a comprehensive
catalogue listing all JNF
stamp published since 1902.
JNF stamps are issued
three to four times a year, on
the advice of a ten-member
public advisory commitee,
composed of experts in Zionist
history, philatelic design,
graphics and production. The
committee determines the
subject of each issue and the
number and type of philatelic
items that will be offered for
sale.
Unlike foreign stamps, the
glue on JNF (and Israeli
postage) stamps is kosher and
all textual inscriptions ap-
pearing on the stamp are
printed in both Hebrew and
another language, usually
English. At each new issue,
about half a million stamps
are printed for distribution to
schols alone. No stamp is ever
reissued.
In December 1988, JNF
commemorated the disas-
trous forest blazes caused in
last summer's extensive ar-
son with a new souvenir sheet
symbolically representing the
"Tree for Tree" project,
produced as part of its cam-
, paign in Israel and in Jewish
communities around the
world to restore Israel's
damaged woodlands. The
souvenir sheet is reminiscent
of the Donate a Tree stamp
issued in 1937 to raise con-
tributions for the woodlands
destroyed at Ben Shemen,
Hulda and other parts of the
country during the three-year
Arab riot that began in 1936. _
lb commemorate Israel's
40th anniversary, JNF issued
a 40th Independence Day
stamp, integrated with the
JNF logo, in the blue and
white colors of the national
flag. On April 11, 1988, an ex-
hibition marking the 40th an-
niversary of Israel's in-
dependence was opened in
Vienna, organized by the
Austrian Philatelic Society,
the JNF, the Israeli Philatelic
Congress and the Holy Land
and Judaica Societies. The
first-day cover com-
memorating the event
featured the Israeli-issued
40th Independence Day