I'm thinking that the upper arc is Yiddish, and the lower arc is Hebrew, and the text below the picture is that guy's name.
Probable usage? Rather like a Xmas seal, signifying a voluntary tax paid.
Googling the Hebrew phrase/name is frustrating, as contemporary uses of "Palestine" effectively bury more historic uses way, way down in the results.
Googling the Yiddish phrase/name, I found:
- a Russian list of Jewish organizations, and
- what might be two decennial reports (1900 & 1910), and
- an entry in a 276-page auction catalog (go fish).
Googling the Yiddish phrase/name in quotes, I found two examples of a cinderella bearing the same phrase/name in two auction lots, to wit:
"Dr. Alexander Marmorek (1865-1923) was a doctor, one of the fathers of Zionism, and was close to Herzl, so much so that the figure of Professor Steinek in Herzl's book Altneuland was based on it. (auction lot caption) (postcard?)"
"Four Handwritten Letters - Poalei Zion Party - Vienna, New York, Berlin, 1914-1910 - German, Yiddish, English and Hebrew. (auction lot caption)"
I cannot tell you the relationship between the "Party" and the "Fund".
If you want to google yourself silly, I can pass you the ASCII'd text & googled links by eMail.
If you edit the title of the thread to "Cinderella Palestine Workers Fund", you'll get more'n'better help.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who really ought to have a better handle on the Pre-State organizations)
  2 Members like this post. Login to Like.
"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
iP has aksed me if I can help with this little puzzle but the truth is I can only guess.
There are many, many labels produced for all number of Jewish Organizations, both in the Middle East and further afield.
I could take a guess and say this one emanates from the Ukraine or USSR but it could equally be a label from a US Organization given the label shown in the previous post.
I believe it is all in Yiddish. As far as I understand, having asked a few folk here more learned than I on the subject, Palestine in Yiddish ends in 'Alef', in Hebrew it doesn't nor did it.
Both men shown on these labels are a mystery but I am looking still as I like these kind of challenges !! The one on the left has the surname Edelstein. His forename could be Yaakov, Yehuda, Yosef or any number of classical old Jewish names beginning with 'Y'. I cannot see all the lettering for the bearded man on the right so naming him will be more difficult......unless Musicman can take a close-up of the name area ???
A Labour fund stamp, I wonder if those depicted were the forefathers ?
There was a Y(aakov) Edelstein who was a prominent Czechoslovak Zionist and a local leader in Theresienstadt. He died in Auschwitz 1944. Only problem is the picture I found of him on the internet does not look like the person on the stamp at all.
For sure the top guy's name is Edelstein (top picture). I also figured out the word Arbeiter (worker). Also the word Poalim (workers or peasants). The bottom fellow's name is M. Hamlefraiyim or something like that. Probably some kind of workers' party, possibly Zionist. The bottom three words seem to say Koopat Poalim Palistinim. The top three words seem to say Palestine Arbeiter Fund or Palestine Workers Fund.
A lot of this is guesswork but I'm sure some of it is correct.
It was fun trying to decipher it after so many years of not using the language.
..capetown
The Yiddish "fund" (upper arc) and the Hebrew "kupa" (lower arc) are equivalent, and are specific to repositories of money.
While Hebrew has many fewer words than English, I would expect to see different words if the stamps were specifically tied to the payment of dues or fees.
For now, I'll stick with my original guess: "rather like a Xmas seal", and signifying a voluntary contribution.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
Login to Like this post
"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Please Note: Postings that were loaded from the old Discussion Board cannot be edited.