This is a poster advertising stamps commemorating the State of Israel’s 14th anniversary. The poster depicts the first day of issue envelope for the special stamp, a pilot, and the date of issue. On the envelope are the two stamps in the Air Force series, the postmark from the day of issue (April 30, 1962), a picture of three pilots with the words “The Best Become Pilots” underneath, and Yom Ha’atzmaut 5722 written in the upper left-hand corner. The pilot is dressed in full fighter pilot gear including a jumpsuit, helmet, and oxygen tank and is looking up at the sky. In the background is a blue sky with white, fluffy clouds. The stamps, whose values are 12 and 30 agorot, show airplanes with the Israeli Air Force (IAF) emblem.
“The Best Become Pilots” is a popular IAF slogan, coined in 1960 to encourage more volunteers to the IAF. Ezer Weizman, the then commander of the IAF (and later seventh president of Israel), used the slogan often in order to promote the IAF as a place of quality and excellence; others criticized the slogan for being overly militaristic. As the slogan became part of the Israeli mainstream, it was adapted to other situations. A rather chauvinistic twist of the slogan was: “The best (men) become pilots but the best (women) are for the pilots.” When Alice Miller sued the IAF for the right to become a fighter pilot, newspapers paraphrased the slogan: “The best (women) become pilots.” References to the slogan have also appeared in other, non-military contexts; for example, the singer Danny Sanderson named his 1992 album, The Best Become Pilots – Selected Songs.
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The Israeli Air Force - The IAF was established along with the State of Israel in 1948. It started out with a small number of planes and pilots from all over the world and has been an important arm of the IDF ever since. Its many successful missions include the airstrike on Egyptian air bases at the start of the Six-Day War, the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, the rescue of hostages during Operation Entebbe in 1976, and, more recently, the destruction of terrorist targets and the execution of various intelligence missions. The IAF has also been involved in civilian activities such as Operation Solomon, the airlift of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Until 1994, only men were accepted as pilots, but following Alice Miller's successful lawsuit, women are now eligible for the prestigious pilot course and have joined the ranks of Israeli pilots.
