Continuity and Renewal

The conversion of an instrument for collecting funds into a means of propaganda in the JNF was not exclusive to the Blue Box. A similar process also took place with the first means of collection created by the JNF, the stamp. In retrospect, the stamps, like the Blue Box, did not become a permanent or considerable source of income for the JNF; still, the Head Office made sure that they were developed and used. There is a difference between these means: the box was a constant propaganda tool, for years enduring with the same conservative design, and it became the most important symbol of the organisation. By contrast, the stamps served as a propaganda tool whose initial design was conservative but later it had to be constantly and regularly renewed. The need for renewal arose out of the changes in the perception of the stamp’s role and the relations between the Head Office in Jerusalem and the national offices, which were both competitive and complementary. Since its founding the JNF has issued several thousand stamps, some appearing once and others several times, of a range of colours and values. Between 1902 and 1947 the Head Office issued more than 250 stamps, which were distributed throughout the Jewish World. At times competition ensued with stamps issued by national JNF committees, especially that of the USA, where an identical number of stamps were issued in the above period. The Polish national JNF committee was also active in issuing stamps, producing over one hundred by 1939. By contrast, the national committees in Germany, Britain, Austria, Brazil, and some other countries only issued several dozens of stamps, so they were apparently not in competition with those of the Head Office.

This chapter concerns several factors pertaining to the stamps and arising out of the historical material of the Propaganda Department in the Head Office in Jerusalem, which was the prime mover in their distribution. These factors are the designs on the stamps and the reasons for their choice, as well as the roles and uses that the JNF proposed for its stamps as part of its propaganda efforts.