Commemorative stamp

 

Israel and Germany issue a joint stamp celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations.

 

It’s a long way from the initial idea to the actual stamp. Several calls for entries to competitions subsequently won preceded the commemorative stamp which, featuring the same image, is available in both Israel and Germany from 11 May 2015. As long ago as November 2014 after two independent national art competitions, a German Israeli jury determined the image that would grace the stamp. The winning design is by Zvika Roitman from Tel Aviv and depicts the balconied façade of a particularly striking building in Tel Aviv, the “White City”. It is the Bruno Building, which dates from the year 1935. It was built by Wihelm Zeev Haller, an architect who was born in Germany but who in 1932 emigrated to what at the time was the British mandate territory of Palestine. Since 2003 the “White City”, the world’s largest ensemble of Bauhaus-style buildings, has been a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

 

In the lower section, known as the tab, the Israeli version of the commemorative stamp features the official logo of the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli relations. With the German stamp the logo – the two interweaving flags of Germany and Israel – appears on the edge of the block of ten stamps. It was designed by students Ticha Matting from Germany and Ariel Wollek from Israel. They also won a competition, which in this case was staged by the Foreign Ministries of the two countries together with the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem.

The joint commemorative issue marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany. During the official state visit by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Berlin on 11 May the two presidents exchanged the stamp issued by each of their countries at a joint press conference. In Germany commemorative stamps are issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance. In Israel the Israeli Philatelic Service, which belongs to the state postal company, is responsible.