Friday, August 2, 1957 — THE D ETROIT JEWISH NEWS-8
Martyr's Forest for 6, 000,000 Jews
Rises Slowly in Israel's Judaean, Hills
By E. SHIDLETZKY
JERUSALEM — An expanse
of 30,000 dunams of hilly waste-
land stretching between Esh-
taol and Shoeva, the border
region between the Biblical
tribes of Judah and Dan, was
earmarked by the Jewish Na-
tional Fund six years ago for
the planting of the Martyrs'
Forest in memory of the
6,000,000 who perished in the
Nazi holocaust.
The forest is composed of 18
separate woodlands each com-
memorating a deStroyed com-
munity. In addition there will
be two special woodlands, one
in memory of the murdered
Jewish children and the other
in memory of the Ghetto
Fighters.
Each woodland is to contain
as many trees as there were
Jewish martyrs: Poland, 2,-
900,000; Russia, 1,500,000; Ro-
mania and Bessarabia, 425,000;
Hungary, 200,000; Germany,
170,000; Czechoslovakia, 160,000; I
Lithuania, 135,000; The Nether-
lands, 105,000; France, 90,000;
Latvia, 85,000; Greece, 60,000;
Yugoslavia, 55,000; Belgium,
40,000; Austria, 40,000; Italy,
15,000; Estonia, Bulgaria, Nor-
way and Denmark, 6,000.
Six years after the first sap-
ling was planted, as we visited
again the hills opposite the new
town of Hartuv-Beit Shemesh
ensconced between the somber
rock walls on its three sides,
we noticed the great change in
the face of the landscape which
has already been wrought here
by the young trees—not only in
this particular spot, but also
in the whole surrounding area.
The first symbolic plantings
have grown up into a fresh,
young woodland of cypresses—
"pyramidical cypresses"—rising
like slim, dark candles and
"horizontal cypresses," spread-
ing their branches wide and
.open.
Of the former ma'abar a
Kesalon, whose tin huts stood
near this 'site, hardly a trace
has remained, but not far from
here a new Kesalon has arisen,
a sprawling settlement crowding
with its neat, white houses, red
roofs, and fresh greenery on
the top of the highest crest and
overlooking all surrounding
ridges.
The new forests bearing the
names of the erstwhile great
Jewish communities s t r e t c h
over dozens of miles of what
were once • the bare and wild
Judaean mountains. Those who
remember the countryside as
it was only a short time ago,
will hardly recognize the
changed landscape. A network
of roads and paths with a corn-
bined length of nearly 50 miles
has been laid to cut through a
territory which for hundreds of
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MOURNING THINK OF
BUILDING FOR THE
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PEOPLE
FUND LAND
GUARD ISRAEL'S
FRONTIERS
TO THE
This photograph, taken six years ago, shows Rabbi Isaac
Halevi Herzog, Chief Rabbi of Israel, planting the first sapling
in Yaa'r Hakdoshim—the Martyr's forest, which will enshrine
the memory of the 6,000,000 Jews slaughtered by the Nazis
with an identical number of trees planted by the survivors of
the 18 communities destroyed by the Nazis.
*
*
years v7.as almost impenetrable.
Nov settlers from the sur-
rounding new villages can eas-
ily approach the new afforesta-
tion sites, where they find work
during all seasons of the year:
extending the roads, weeding
around the youngest saplings;
hoeing the soil near the young
trees to make it retain better
the rain waters; keeping "fire
lanes" between forest plots free
of vegetation in order the pre-
vent the spreading of a con-
flagration; preparing new
slopes for afforestation; and,
finally, doing the actual plant-
ing work.
Pine trees and cypresses still
make up the bulk of the Mar-
tyrs' Forest. These two species
find most appropriate conditions
in the hills' soil and climate.
But three years ago an experi-
ment was made with a special
kind of eucalyptus tree called
"gomphocephala" which is able
to groW also on mountainous
slopes and not only on swampy
ground, as is the rule with
eucalyptus.
Twelve thousand such trees
already grow in the wood com-
memorating Polish Jewry and
testify to the complete success
of this experiment.
Eucalyptus has the advantage
of speedy growth and consider-
able water content, which di-
minishes the danger of forest
fires in the hill regions.
Smaller plots, where enough
soil has been preserved in the
rock clefts, have been allocated
to carob trees, the value of
whose abundant sugary fruit
for Israel's economy has been
recognized and appreciated dur-
ing recent years.
Thus most of the former
wasteland of the Judaean Hills
has been transformed. But if
you decide to penetrate deeper
into this area, where the ap-
proach is very difficult even
today, you may still find many
slopes and mountains, bare and
barren, awaiting the day when
19161 Schaefer Hgwy. (Labor Zionist Institute)
N. Borinstein, pres.
announces that
High Holiday Services will be held in the beautiful
AIR CONDITIONED MAIN AUDITORIUM
For more information call
Mr. I. Levin, vice pres.
Diamond 1-9061
JEWISH NATIONAL
MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION
THIS TISHA B'ab
CONGREGATION SHOMREY EMUNAH
Sholem Flam, rabbi
180
SETTLEMENTS ON
Mr. L. Ungar, treas.
UNiversity 4-3392
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND
MORE GENEROUS!
*
they, too, will be given their
green mantle.
Then you realize that the
great undertaking of the Mar-
tyrs' Forest is still far from
completion.
To date only half of the area
allocated to this huge forest has
been covered. In other words,
another 3,000,000 trees are still
to - be planted—one tree for each
of those who died.
Open Studies Congress
at Mazer Building
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
Abraham :Mazer Building which
will house the Institute of Jew-
ish Studies on the campus of the
Hebrew University here was
dedicated, in conjunction with
the opening of the Second World
Congress on - Jewish Studies.
Except for the opening ses-
sion, the congress meetings will
be held in the Mazer Building.
Present at the dedicatory ex-
ercises were President Itzhak
Ben-ZVi and leading members
of the government and Israel
and foreign scholars. Joseph
Mazer, of New York, represent-
ed his family, which contrib-
uted the funds for the building.
At the Congress' opening ses-
sion Premier David Ben-Gurion
told the 500 delegates and guests
that Jewry is greatly indebted
to the flourishing Jewish com-
munities of Islamic countries
for its present cultural state. He
expressed the opinion that im-
migrants from Arab countries
would quickly integrate them-
selves culturally in Israel and
speedily regain their promi-
nence in Jewish studies.
Among the 100 delegates to
the parley are heads of univer-
sities, curators of museums,
archaeologists, anthropologists,
librarians and university pro-
fessors.
They come from Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Ro-mania, Bul-
garia, United States, Australia,
South Africa, Italy, Belgium,
Denmark, Holland, Greece, Lux-
emburg, Spain, France, Switzer-
land, Finland, Canada, Britain,.
Portugal and Spanish Morocco,
as well as Israel.
Uruguay to Publish First -
History of Its 50,000 Jews
NEW YORK (WJA) — The
first history of the Jewish com-
munity of Uruguay will be pub-
lished in August, which has
been proclaimed "World Jewish
Congress Month" to mark the
25th anniversary of the WJC,
the Council of the WJC Com-
mittee in Uruguay announced.
The Jewish population of
Uruguay now numbers 50,000
out of a total of 3,000,000
people,
•
The traditional Tisha b'Ab collections
for Keren Kayemet L'Israel will be
mode during Tisha b'Ab services,
Monday evening and Tuesday, August
5 and 6 in all Synagogues, among
them being
MORE BORDER
SETTLEMENTS
ARE NEEDED
MORE LAND
MUST BE RE-
CLAIMED AND
DEVELOPED .
MORE TREES
MUST BE
PLANTED .. .
MORE PEOPLE
MUST BE
ABSORBED
BY THE LAND
Cong. Adas Shalom
Cong. B'nai Israel
Cong. Ades Yeshurun
Cong. Bina; Jacob
Cong. Agudath Israel
Cong. Bina; Moshe
Cong. Ahavas Achim
Cong. B'nai Zion
Cong. Anshe Bereznitz
Cong. Beth Aaron
Cong. Chesed Shel Ernes
Cong. Beth Aaron V`Israel
Cong. Beth Abraham
Cong. Day Frenkel
Evergreen Jewish Community
Cong. Ezras Achim
Cong. Gemiluth Chassodim
Cong. Beth Itzchock
Cong. Beth Joseph
Cong. Beth Moses
Cong. Mogen Abraham
Cong. Beth Shalom
Cong. Beth Shmuel
Cong. Beth Tefilo Emanuel
Con. Beth Tephilath Moses
(Mt. Clemens)
Cong. Beth Tikvah
Cong. Beth Yekudah
Cong. Northwest Israel
Cong. Nusach Hanle
Cong. Shaarey Shomain
Cong. Shaarey Zion
Temple Israel
Cong. Young Israel
Young Israel Center of
Oakwoods
Cong. B`nai David
OUTSTATE
Cong. Beth Israel Community Center
Ann Arbor
Anshe Chesed Temple
Bay City
Bay City
Cong. Shaarey Zedek
Cong. Ahavas Sholom
Benton Harbor
Temple Beth El
Benton Harbor
Temple Beth El
Flint
Beth Israel Synagogue
Flint
Cong. Ahavas Achim
Temple Beth Israel
Grand Rapids
Jackson
Cong. of Moses
Shaarey Zedek Cong.
Cong. B'nai Israel
Cong. B'nai Israel
Kalamazoo
Lansing
Muskegon
Pontiac
Temple B'nai Israel
Saginaw
THOSE NOT ATTENDING
THE SYNAGOGUES ARE
REQUESTED TO SEND
THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS
TO THE OFFICE OF THE
JEWISH
NATIONAL FUND
18414 WYOMING
UN. 4-2767
Contributions
to .1.NF ore. tox deductible.