Israel and the World

First cover with three joint issues of Israel 

1. Israel - Vatican Joint Issue 

While the visit by Pope Francis to Israel in May 2014 was officially described as a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he participated in two events bearing both historic significance and importance for the future: the Pope met with the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I (to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras  I); and placed a wreath at the gravesite of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, another indication of the strengthening ties between Israel and the Vatican, and between Judaism and the Catholic Church.

2. Israel- Bulgaria Joint Issue 

Israel and Bulgaria share a strong, unique historical bond.The joint efforts of the Bulgarian people, the Church and the Parliament saved the Bulgarian Jewish community during WWII, adding an exceptional human dimension to the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The stork is connected to human habitats and in Europe it signifies the arrival of spring and symbolizes hope. Some 600,000 storks migrate through Israel's skies twice a year, among them probably all of Bulgaria's storks.

3. Israel - Malta Joint Issue 

Israel and Malta issued a joint postage stamp to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between the countries and recall the shared history of the Order of the Knights Hospitallers that began in Jerusalem in the Middle Ages. 

The Order of the Knights Hospitallers was founded in Jerusalem in the 12th century and established its center south of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. During the Crusader period the knights, who were also known as the Order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, were tasked with aiding Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land by providing protection and medical services. After the defeat of the Crusaders at the 1187 Battle of Hattin, the Hospitallers retreated to Acre where they built halls and community centers, some of which are still standing today.

In the later Middle Ages, facing the advancing Muslim armies, the Hospitallers were forced out of Acre and were granted the island of Malta by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, founding their own state on the island with its capital at Valletta. The Hospitallers built a hospital overlooking the port of Valletta. The surviving building is now used as a conference center.

To be continued ..