Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President and Rosh Yeshiva | Yeshiva University
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President and Rosh Yeshiva | Yeshiva University
Some among the Yeshiva University (YU) community may recall the issuance of a United States Postal Service (USPS) stamp in honor of the University’s first president, Bernard Revel. This event marked the beginning of a yearlong celebration starting in September 1986 to commemorate the University's Centennial. Others may have learned about it subsequently.
In the summer following the stamp's issuance, an anonymous tip to the Bureau of Engraving & Printing reported a tiny, unauthorized Star of David etched into Bernard Revel’s beard on the stamp. Though invisible to the naked eye, experts and enthusiasts were expected to eventually discover it. The investigation revealed that this symbol was engraved by Kenneth Kipperman, son of Holocaust survivors who spent his early years in a Displaced Persons camp. Kipperman, one of only 16 craftsmen at the Bureau skilled enough to engrave stamps and currency, described his act as a symbolic gesture: “he’s Jewish, I’m Jewish – no big deal.” While some countries permit such personalizations by engravers, the United States does not.
Adding another layer to this story, Kipperman had been arrested months earlier for threatening to blow up a building at a construction site adjacent to the Bureau. This site was designated for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Kipperman objected to demolishing a building known as the Auditor’s Complex on the Annex portion of the site because it resembled structures at Auschwitz and was initially intended to be part of the Museum's design. He protested until he was forcibly removed and later diagnosed with PTSD related to the Holocaust.
The aftermath included several consequences:
- Kipperman received probation and community service but was reinstated at the Bureau.
- The Bureau's inspection of master dies from the previous decade uncovered several unauthorized signatures; however, only Revel's stamp contained a symbol.
- The USPS did not issue a revised version of Revel's stamp, which affected its value as a collectible.
Reflecting on these events, one member expressed gratitude towards a Wikipedia editor who included this information in Bernard Revel's article.
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