The Israel Philatelic Service issued nine new stamps in four series in the month of June. The new stamps honor themes as diverse as Volunteer Organizations in Israel, the Israel Prison Service, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Israel, and Dance.
The UNESCO series honors the five Israeli sites or locations that appear on the United Nations' list of world heritage places recommended for protection. Three of the sites appear on specific stamps: Massada, on a stamp worth 5.80 shekels; the White City of Tel Aviv (a neighborhood recognized for its Modern Movement architecture and town planning), a 5-shekel issue; and the city of Acre (Acco), for 3.30 shekels. Two other UNESCO sites in Israel - the Incense Route of Negev desert cities and Biblical tells Megiddo, Hatzor, and Be'er Sheva - do not appear on specific stamps.
Volunteer organizations in Israel were also honored with a stamp in June, worth 1.50 shekels - the price of sending a standard domestic letter. The tab reads, "For a better world," while the first-day cover states, "All of Israel is responsible one for another."
The explanatory literature states that nearly 15,000 volunteer organizations operate in Israel on a local or national scope. Examples are Yad Sarah (providing free loans of medical equipment), Zaka (Rescue and Save), Enosh (Israel Mental Health Association), Magen David Adom, Honenu (legal representation) and local community charity organizations. In addition, in many neighborhoods in Israel, arrangements known as Gmachin provide free services and loans of items as diverse as baby pacifiers and carriages, medicines, ladders, carpentry equipment, house-cleaning, baby-sitting, wedding paraphernalia, and much more.
Another philatelic issuance this past month, for 2.50 shekels, honors the Israel Prison Service. Employing 7,000 workers and responsible for over 24,000 security and criminal prisoners, the IPS is a component of Israel's security forces. It began as a department of the Israel Police in May 1948, but became an independent body in January 1949.
Four stamps worth 2.20 shekels each were issued in June on various dance styles: ballet, ethnic dance, Israeli folk dance, and modern dance.
In May, one new stamp was issued, in honor of the 40th Anniversay of Jerusalem's reunification, including a special souvenir leaf. The previous month, eight new stamps were issued, on the themes of Memorial Day, Centenary of World Scouting, Development Towns (three stamps), and the commemoration of 120 years of Neve Tzedek (three stamps). Neve Tzedek was the first neighborhood in Jaffa outside the Old City walls; Rabbi Avraham Kook lived there when he first arrived in the Holy Land and became Rabbi of Jaffa and the Moshavot.