Jerusalem Reunification 50th Anniversary Pillowcase

In May of 1967 Israel issued a set of three postage stamps featuring various aeroplanes for Yom Ha'Atzma'ut (Independence Day). In June of that year the Six Day War broke out which resulted in the reunification of Jerusalem. This is a re-imagining, updated for the times, of one of those stamps. As here, the original stamp (Scott number 343) depicted a Mystère IVA fighter flying over the Dead Sea. In this reconstruction, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the reunification of the city, satellite mapping data was used to produce the background topography. Hebrew text at lower right reads, "Israel," as does Arabic text at top right. Hebrew text at top left reads 5777, the year according to the Jewish calendar expressed as gematria, 2017, and the name of the artist. The original stamp was denominated at 30 agorot, the reconstruction at 30 New Israel Shekels - you know, inflation. A cancellation with the lion symbol of Jerusalem also appears. On May 12, 1968, the government proclaimed a new holiday – Jerusalem Day – to be celebrated on the 28th of Iyar, the Hebrew date on which the divided city of Jerusalem was reunited.