Color It Green the JNF Forests in Israel BY MILTON JACOBY But yours is a green country !" exclaimed the traveler who was making his first journey through Israel from Lod Airport to Jerusalem. The scene that unfolded itself in the wood-covered Judean Hills was so markedly dif- ferent from his previous notions of Middle East condi- tions, climate and landscape. that he could hardly believe his eyes. Oaring the following days of his stay• the visitor was still to learn many more facts: that only a few decades ago Israel's hill country had by no means the same hospitable look: that tremendous efforts were required to bring the change about; that very large ex- panses of hare and rocky hills, and of waste and empty sands were still awaiting the forester to cover their nakedness. and that the nation was fully prepared to mobilize further resourses for this purpose. Israel Shows The Way Since 1948, the scope of afforestation in Israel has expanded at a pace unthought of before statehood. With the total of JNF-planted forest trees approaching 100,- 000.000. the figure has increased nearly 20-fold in 22 years of statehood. Choice and allocation of lands for afforestation purposes have been streamlined, planting and forest techniques greatly improved. From year to year many requests have come in (mostly through FAO. the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Na- tions) for forestry experts of the Jewish National Fund to visit and advise foreign countries, particularly those of the Mediterranean region, like Cyprus, Greece, etc. A case in point is Malta, where JNF experts have already succeeeded in making new forests grow, after advisers from other countries had tried and given up, declaring the island's conditions unsuitable. observation towers and marvel at the beautiful expanses visible from there, or enjoy Nature Parks laid out with JNF aid, like Hurshat Tal with its ancient giant oaks, its lawns, ponds and waterfalls, or the greenery tucked away between colossal rock walls around the Ein Avdat and Ein Mor springs in the deep Negev. out — the planting of the Twentieth Anniversary Peace Forest which is to stretch over considerable parts of the Judean Hills; the Memorial Forest for Jews executed in Iraq. Egypt and other enemy countries; the forest to be laid out on Mount Carmel commemorating Haifa's late Mayor Abba Hushi, and many others. Many of the forests that splash huge sectors of Israel with green, honor individuals who have been admired by the Jewish people: John F. Kennedy, Harry S Truman. Chaim Weizinann, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sir Winston Churchill, and others. The Jerusalem Peace Forest, the Martyrs' Forest, the Canada Forest, and forests in the name of countries throughout the world, all help to heal the once ravaged land and stimulate the country's economy. The visitor to Israel can obtain a unique perspective of this extraordinary land if he simply traverses the forests planted so lovingly in the desert, stretching to the Arava up through the semi-arid center of the country and the hilly vastness of the Galilee up to Metulla. These forests have not only mantled Israel in green beauty, but have provided the young nation with security on the open borders and the nation's citizens with shade and coolness. Indeed, nowhere else in the world have forests served such multiple purposes. If the map of Israel was largely brown when the state was created, the dots of green are rapidly spreading and giving Israel the repu- tation of being the oasis of the Middle East, Close to 100,000,000 planted trees and 200,000 acres afforested are achievements not to be ashamed of, but the Jewish National Fund does not rest content. Plans are at hand for more and more work to be carried A Visitor's Paradise Afforestation has changed not only the- landscape of Israel, but also the habits of its inhabitants. Ever greater masses of Israel citizens spend their holidays in the open, traveling the length and width of the country, thus deep- ening their attachment to the Homeland. To promote this movement, the JNF has already installed 60 camping and recreation sites in its forests and in the terrains under its protection, two on the Golan Heights, 14 in the Galilee, 10 in the central valleys, on Mount Carmel, in the Menashe Hills, and Mount Gilboa, 21 in the Jerusalem Hills and the Judean Foothills, and 13 in the South, the Negev and the Arava Valley. Visitors climb the picturesque JNF The John F. Kennedy Memorial in Jerusalem, built with funds contributed to the Jewish National Fund by American Jewry. Detroiters are well represented on the landscape of Israel. Forests in honor of, or in memory of distinguished members of the area can be found in all corners of the land—notably in the Judean Hills overlooking Jerusa- lem, in the John F. Kennedy Peace Forest, in Eastern Galilee . .. facing the menacing Golan Heights. The fol- lowing 46 forests came into being as a result of the inter- est and generosity of members of the community: Nathan & Ada Linden Family Sam Adler Forest Forest Norman and Esther Allan Ben Nosarichnk Forest Family Forest Abe and Laura Nn !mum Forest Louis Berry .Family Forest Pioneer Women of l'etroit Forest The Frank Blas Forest (in the Leah hrisKin Forest( Torn and Sarah Borman Forest tin mem ory of then parents ' Morris & Rose Pollack Forest Albert & Libbic Posen Family Fred .51. M B ut.rel Forest Forest Harry I. Cohen Forest Irwin I. and Sadie Cohn Forest Aaron & Ida Rosenberg Forest Cantor A. A. & Helen Rosenfeld Joseph Ehrlich Forest Forest Louis M. Elliman Forest Morris L. Scharer Forest (in mentor,/ of his parents) Isaac and Martha Fax.stein ForestIrring .W. Schlussel Forest Harry .Schumer Forest Peter Goldstein Forest Francts Heidenreich Hennepin Isaac and Simon SheLter Forest Ir•ing J. Sherin Forest and Son Marvin Forest Leonard & Harriette Simons Rabbi A. M. Hershman Forest Forest William Hordes Forest Saul Sloan Forest Bernard & Belle Isaacs Forest Stollinan Family Forest Jewish Women's European Daniel Ternchin Forest Welfare Organization Forest United Hebrew Schools Forest The Kasle Family Forest Williams-Hart Fore. Saul & Sophie. tint: Forest Women's Ass.riliarY'Forest David tiotmker Forest Rabbi Mandel M. Zager Forest Phillip M. Klutztlik Forest (Detroit Bnai Brith I ( Detroit Mini Bra h J Maurice C. Zeiger Forest fienpfrnin L. Latkin Forest (Detroit Huai Brithl The Lewis Family Forest Paul Zuckerman Family Forest atroit griends Bar-glan Universit Are proud to share in the great joy of Israel's cul- tural and spiritual progress and the historic at- tainments during 22 years of heroic struggles to create a democratic center in the ancient Jewish homeland. May the growth of Medinat Israel serve as a symbol of world Jewry's dedication to our sacred heritage. —to—nian Chairman, National Board of Trustees of American Friends of Bar-Ilan University Campus of Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel A-12—THE'DETROITJEWISH NEWS May' 15, 1970