United States. Iraqi postal boycott of Israel: 6 JUN 1949 airmail cover on business stationary from NEW YORK to REHOVOT, franked 25c per period air mail rate & tied by local machine cancel; mis-routed via IRAQ where backstamped 11 JUN 49 BAGHDAD arrival + manuscript marked on front "No Postal Communication w Palestine Returned to Sender" & returned. This is the earliest known example of Israel-bound mail received in Iraq: very rare as Iraq has had no postal relations with Israel since 1948 & so few articles have ever been mis-routed there (no Iraqi instructional marking handstamp exists as erroniously-routed mail volume is negligible). Some staple holes & vertical folds. Rare instance of mail misrouted via Arab countries not in the immediate proximity to Israel - only 2 such known routed via Iraq. Of note: the vertically aligned 6-digit printed number on lower-left front of cover may be a censor mark, a more advanced version of a similar type (Type-8A2) used in BEIRUT during WWII, and as Israeli War of Independence just ended (March 1949), this may be a carry-over. If confirmed, an interesting clue as to this cover's mis-routing.

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