Political Controversy Erupts Over Israeli Stamp

Israel's Haaretz.com website reports, "A postage stamp is at the heart of a conflict between Israel and Gibraltar, a tiny British overseas territory on the straits connecting the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. The stamp slated to be released by both the postal services of Israel and Gibraltar, will apparently never find its way to any envelopes, after the Gibraltar’s postal service refused to approve its design for apparent political reasons"

According to the piece, "A year ago, Israeli philatelists were informed on the upcoming release of the Israel- Gibraltar stamp. In June, its design was made public. It was half adorned by a picture of a Gibraltar cliff and half with a picture of the King David Citadel in Jerusalem."

It goes on to say, "Gibraltar’s postal service was dismayed with Israel’s choice, since the Jerusalem landmark is located beyond the Green Line. In response they froze the joint project, and Israeli attempts at replacing the picture with pictures of other landmarks were futile."

 Moshe Rimmer, one of the leading stamp collectors in Israel is quoted in the article as saying, “As far as I know, the stamp hasn’t been released to the market, neither in Israel nor in Gibraltar. If you find one, you could become very rich.”

To read the entire article, click here.