2025Embroidery in Eretz Israel - First Day Cover

Embroidery is the creation of images using a needle and threads intertwined within the fabric's structure. It is part of a wide repertoire of objects spanning ancient, traditional, and even contemporary artistic cultures. Each culture has unique characteristics of embroidery, yet stitches and motifs have traveled across the world and are shared among cultures. In Arab culture in Israel, women embroidered garments that reflected skill, tradition, personal expression, and group identity. Among Judaica artifacts, embroidery holds a place of honor, such as embroidered Torah Ark curtains, Torah covers, tallit bags, and mezuzah covers. In the Jewish community of the Land of Israel, embroidered blessings helped to maintain ties with the Jewish diaspora. Students at Bezalel Academy learned embroidery as an applied art, and after the establishment of the state, folk embroidery became a symbol of the renewal of Hebrew culture in Israel. Today, diverse communities in Israel sustain a rich culture of embroidery as both an artistic act and a means of expressing personal identity or unique community narratives.