The Menorah (Lampstand) Stamp

This set of six coloured stamps of different values, show the seven-branched Lampstand, the symbol of the Jewish nation. The tabs illustrate the famous capture of the Menorah carried on the shoulders of the victors, taken from the Arch of Titus. Soon after the Declaration of Independence (15th May 1948) the first Israeli government chose the country’s emblem and flag on 10th February 1949, the seven branched menorah as the emblem of the re-born State. Remarkably it is not the Mosaic lampstand that was chosen, but the one pictured on the Arch of Titus which differs from the original pattern, having gentile-inspired engravings on its base. Professor Michael Avi-Yona, scholar of ancient Jewish art, recommended the menorah from the Arch of Titus for the State emblem, for the reason that “more than anything else, it is the symbol of the Jewish people from the time of the Second Temple.” The victory procession in Rome depicted on the Arch represents the destruction of Jewish independence, renewed 2,000 years later. The stamp with an information sheet are enclosed in a plastic protection sheet.