Autography of Israeli President Weizmann

This website was founded in 2003. This revision retains its original appearance as a commemoration

Sales Catalog　　EN home 　Collection Transfer　 Same CN page

Sales Description

011-Autography of Israeli President Weizmann

01 Background introduction of philatelic collection

“In the war, he showed incredible courage, but when peace appeared on the horizon, he brought it under his command—— On April 24, 2005, former Israeli President Ezer Weizmann, who was both a "war hero" and a "peace pioneer," completed his dramatic life at the age of 81.

In the second half of the 20th century, on the world political and military stage, Israel and the Jewish people gradually evolved from the weak and Sympathized by the world to the strong and aggressive

Since the beginning of the Palestine War in 1948, it has lasted for more than 60 years With the strong support of successive US governments, Israel, with its rapidly developing economy and military strength, has repeatedly defeated Arab countries with an area of over 500 times its size and a total population of 150 million in several wars, thanks to its "small territory" of more than 20000 square kilometers and a population of just over 4 million As a result, it gained an absolute advantage in the Israeli Palestinian conflict and continuously expanded its territory, making the conflict a century old hot spot that is difficult to eliminate

I noticed Weizmann because on April 21, 1999, the People's Daily published a message: at the invitation of President Jiang Zemin, Israeli President Weizmann will pay a state visit to China from April 25 to May 1 and attend the opening ceremony of the "99 Kunming World Horticultural Expo" in China Afterwards, I consulted a large amount of information about him and gradually learned about his legendary experiences Especially the reports about his transition from a hawkish warrior to a dovish advocate for reconciliation with Palestine have sparked my great interest in him

Weizmann came from a prestigious family He is the nephew of the first President of Israel, Chaim Weizmann. In 1942, when World War II was raging, he joined the Royal Air Force at the age of only 18. From 1958 to 1966, he served as the Commander of the Israeli Air Force The Third Middle East War brought Weizmann's military prestige to an unprecedented height. On the morning of June 5, 1965, the Israeli Air Force took the initiative and sent 300 planes to destroy 200 Egyptian planes within two hours, most of which were destroyed before takeoff. By noon that day, the Israeli Air Force had destroyed another 200 Arab planes, completely gaining air superiority. Analysts say that the Israeli Air Force established the victory of this 6-day war within 6 hours. For many years, he has been an active and aggressive hawkish figure After retiring, Weizmann, like many retired generals, first chose the right-wing camp. In 1973, Weizmann joined the Likud Group. Four years later, the Likud Party won the election and Weizmann became the Minister of Defense In the military and political circles, he enjoy extremely high prestige

Afterwards, he gradually transformed from a hawkish figure with outstanding military achievements to a famous dovish figure. Analysts have pointed out that the main reason for Weizmann's transformation was that he gradually established a good personal relationship with the then Egyptian President Sadat; Secondly, his son Saul was severely wounded by an Egyptian sniper near the Suez Canal in 1970 The pain and torment of his loved ones made him more directly realize the cruelty of war and the value of peace He devoted a lot of effort to improving Israeli Palestinian relations Under Weizmann's unremitting efforts, the Camp David Accords were reached in 1978, and in 1980, Weizmann was extremely dissatisfied with the delay in Palestinian autonomy negotiations by the right-wing government of Begin and broke away from the Likud group to form a new party In the late 1980s, Weizmann had already begun secret meetings with the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Europe, which was still an illegal act at the time. After the 1987 Palestinian uprising, Weizmann advocated for contact with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which Israel called a terrorist organization, and its leader Arafat. In May 1993, Weizmann was elected by the Israeli parliament as the seventh president of the Jewish state, and was re elected as president in March 1998 for a five-year term. Although the presidency in Israel is a symbolic vacancy, Weizmann still used his influence to promote the peace process In an article recalling Weizmann, the former Chinese ambassador to Israel wrote, "Weizmann repeatedly told me that his past experiences can be summarized as: engaging in war for the first thirty years and seeking peace for the next thirty years. He believed that winning peace was more important and difficult than winning war, and instead embarked on the path of fighting for peace between Israel and neighboring countries

For such a legendary figure from Israel, who was originally far away from me, stamp collecting communication activities greatly brought us closer together On the third day of his departure from China (March 1995), I sent him a postcard requesting an autography, on the 16th day after I sent the letter, which was May 19th, I received a letter with a postmark in both Israeli and English, and marked with the blue emblem of Israel's seven pronged candlestick. After opening the envelope, the postcard with Weizmann's handwritten signature returned to me at an astonishing speed. I carefully studied the various stamps on the letter and reply, and found that this letter would not stay in Weizmann's hands for more than a day! It is highly likely that he signed the letter on the same day it arrived This can be confirmed from various postmarks Weizmann's signature is strong and powerful, revealing the rugged and unrestrained personality of a seasoned veteran soldier; But he handled a letter from an ordinary Chinese citizen so quickly. In addition to his deep feelings for the Chinese people, Weizman, a veteran soldier, still maintained a good military style in his political career in Israel's special political and military environment, which may be an explanation for my "receiving this honor"!　

According to common sense, my story with Weizmann seems to have come to an end, but something unexpected happened. In early 2000, it was reported that the Israeli judiciary began investigating President Weizmann's acceptance of cash during his time as a member of parliament. On January 4, 2000, the China Yangtze Evening News reported that Israeli media revealed last week that Weizmann had received a large amount of cash from a French Jewish millionaire during his time as a member of parliament. Weizmann used this money to pay for his son's medical expenses. The remaining money was deposited into the bank accounts of his daughter and son-in-law. The Israeli judiciary believed that Weizmann should report or pay taxes on the acceptance of the grant. Weizmann admitted to accepting $450000 on the 3rd, but he said that the money was only a gift between friends and had no political intention, and there was no legal requirement to report or pay taxes. After more than half a year of investigation, the prosecutor's office decided to exempt Wei from prosecution, but... Wei's' moral negligence 'was criticized. Under political pressure, Weizmann officially submitted his resignation to the parliament on July 10, 2000, resigning from the presidency and retiring with a sense of sadness。

People often say that humans are emotional animals, and it's true. For Weizmann's change, besides feeling sorry for him, I always wanted to do something for him. As the Chinese saying goes, 'The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring.' When he was president, an ordinary citizen from a foreign country tried not to cause him any trouble But when he is in trouble, I think he will also have similar emotions to ordinary people and need care, support, comfort Even if it's insignificant, as long as it's sincere After careful consideration, I have decided to write a letter and have chosen my favorite "Nine Dragon Wall" gold foil stamp produced by China Philatelic Corporation to send along with the letter I think this will evoke beautiful memories of distant and ancient China for him, and it is also a suitable way for Chinese stamp collectors to express their feelings at this moment. This letter was sent by registered air on the 8th day after Weizmann announced his resignation within 6 weeks, which was published in the newspaper

I am pleased to receive a reply signed by Mr. Shomer, the Director of the Presidential Office, on June 22, 2000 The translation of the letter is as follows: "Dear Mr. Han Wenguang, on behalf of President Weizmann, I deeply appreciate your kind and friendly letter, as well as the (sent) Chinese small sheet and postcard. We are very grateful for your kindness and concern. Ali H. Shomer, Director of the Presidential Office, June 13, 2000. Jerusalem." After reading the reply, I seem to feel a little relaxed and comforted psychologically. No matter what later generations may say, I have done something that I believe should be done and can be done, even though it is so insignificant

On April 25, 2005, a bad news suddenly came that Weizmann had passed away due to illness He passed away at the age of only 80 My heart is heavy with the news of his passing This is not only due to my admiration for his lifelong character, but also because of the sighs and regrets it has caused I lament the successive died of the two giants of Israel and Palestine (Arafat), and I am even more regretful that Weizmann left too early He left with unfinished peace regrets and the excruciating pain that war brought to his family I am also in my 70s, even though I am just an ordinary person, I can understand the nostalgia and love for children that elderly people often have With a heavy heart, I kept browsing through reports on Weizmann's death both domestically and internationally. I saw a large number of articles online, most of which were nostalgia, praise, and admiration for him. Although there were criticisms, they were criticisms of a soldier who had an open mind and was brave enough to move forward, and a sorrowful love for an old man who was warm-hearted and outspoken Weizmann, a figure who blends the personality of General Patton with the political beliefs of Prime Minister Rabin, will surely leave a brilliant legacy and endless longing for future generations His ideal of peace will also become the ultimate choice for resolving the Israeli Palestinian conflict

02 Introduction to the main philatelic collection to be transferred

No	Name	Details
001	Mailed 1 postcard autographed by a celebrity	165X102mm air registration Use the PP13 Peony ordinary postage postcards issued by the State Post Bureau on March 22, 1999 (with a circulation of 10 million), and attach five stamps on top of them There are four Nanjing 1999.5.3. postmarks on the front of the postcard; An Israeli green triangular postmark with a landing date of November 1995; The handwritten signature of Israeli President Weizmann The back of the postcard contains the contents of the letter of request for a visa (in English) and a photo of Weizmann and General Secretary Jiang Zemin during his visit to China (Image see here)
002	One postage paid international letter envelope issued by the Israeli Presidential Office	The upper left corner of the 230X110mm white envelope is marked with a blue Israeli seven pronged candle holder emblem There are three red stamps on the right, two rectangular and one circular One of them, one yuan, is the Israel postage total payment postmark, available in both English and English The postage is 2.20, and I don't know what 1558 means? The date marked as 12.5.99 is unknown to be related to the Jewish calendar and needs further research The square stamp on its left side has a national gray pattern and text, which may be the official stamp of the Presidential Palace There is a blue rectangular delivery mark from China Post in the bottom right corner The back of the envelope has a Nanjing arrival stamp The date is September 19th, 1999 (Image see here )
003	Copy of letter to President Weizmann	210X297mm white printing paper Printed in English, signed by Han Wenguang The top is the sender's address, dated July 5th, 2000 The English translation can be found here (Image see here)
004	A letter envelope issued by the Office of President Weizmann	The upper left corner of the 230X110mm white envelope is marked with a blue Israeli seven pronged candle holder emblem There are three red stamps on the right, two rectangular and one circular One of them, one yuan, is the Israel postage total payment postmark, available in both English and Israeli The postage is 2.30, and I don't know what 1558 means? The date marked as 14.6.00 is unknown to be related to the Jewish calendar and needs further research The square stamp on its left side has a national gray pattern and text, which may be the official stamp of the Presidential Palace There is a blue rectangular delivery mark from China Post in the bottom right corner The back of the envelope has a Nanjing landing stamp The date is June 23, 2000 (Image see here)
005	A letter issued by the Office of President Weizmann	210X297mm white letterhead Printed in English, with a gray pattern of Israel and the name of the country in both English and Chinese at the top The left and right sides are marked as the Director of the Presidential Office The middle date is June 13, 2000, with a letter in the middle and an Amb Arieh Shomer's signature at the bottom . The English text can be found here. (Image see here)

For the list of postal products in each transfer project, if necessary, you can send a request by email, and our website will provide you with detailed information

03 Images