COVER N. 418 - ISRAEL

Postmark: Tel Aviv - Yafo 11.02.2024 

Posted on the 11th February; Received on the 4th March 2024

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A cover from Israel, as usual from Yair whom I thank for  having again used large interesting stamps on it.

Israel..., 

I don't really want to sound disrespectful, especially to Yair, who sent me this cover as  a token of  civility and understanding, as all exchanges between people who don't know each other but share a common interest inherently are. But, these days, I cannot mention Israel, without stating how deeply appalled I am for what is happening and has been happening in Gaza for months, now, with the world Olympically turning  its back on the sufferance of millions of people who are incarcerated in a no escape cage, being constantly told to move somewhere else, without access to the most basic humanitarian assistance or support,  due to the outrageous behaviour of the Israeli Government.

Those people, those defenceless women and children have rights! Please respect them as any of the rights of Israeli children should also be fully respected.

I may be quite wrong, but I do fear that what is happening now will be paid in blood when many of those children reach youth and adulthood....give them schools, education, hope, not martyrdom as a role model...

Make no mistake. I think that Hamas is but a bloody terrorist group  and what their mililitants did on the 7th October last year  bears no place in the definition of human, or mankind. For that, all the perpetrators should be brought to justice and punished.  But what the government of Israel is doing right now stands on the same level of absurdity and disrespect for human rights, and that should not go without consequences too, for those who knowingly and intentionally continue to order it.

This again is but my opinion and let me stress that I have no intention whatsoever of responding to an act of courtesy and civility with a disrespectful rant. It is not the case, and my words should not be read as such.

Stamps left to right:

- Gerberas are very beautiful members of the Asteraceae family. Being native to South America, Africa, Madagascar and Tropical Asia, they are today cultivated as cut flowers in many countries, mine included, cultivars now exceeding 80 varieties, I believe.

On 05FEB2013 Israel post issued a souvenir sheet with 10 stamps (2 strips of 5) featuring images of gerberas, from which the .30 shekel on my cover was taken. Other denominations included are .20; .40; .50;.60 and 1 Shekel. 

- Cacti of Israel was the theme for a 5 se-tenant 2.5 Shekel stamp strip issued on 15FEB2022. The stamp on the cover illustrated with an image of an  Opuntia ficus-indica is part of that set.

- As far as I could read in Wikipedia and other sources, Sukkot is a Jewish  religious festival that is celebrated every year in the beginning of the autumn season in remembrance of the 40 years of desert exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt. It is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals, during which male adult Israelites were required to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to make offerings  of their field produces, the other two being Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana.

On these festivals, animals would be offered in sacrifice, namely bulls, goats and lambs. This, I think, is the reason why the set of three stamps (2.6; 7.4 and 12  Shekels) issued on 13SET2022 dedicated to the three above mentioned  Israeli Festivals is illustrated with images of those particular animals. 

The 2,6 Shekel stamp, dedicated to the Sukkot Festival can be seen on the cover.

The postmark indicates postage at Tel-Aviv.