A burnt forest is not a pleasant sight to see, but that is exactly what greeted a Taglit-Birthright Israel: Shorashim/JNF group from the U.S. on Tuesday, July 6, when they went to work in a forest near Beit Shemesh in the Lower Judean Plain where a major forest fire broke out during the last week of June, destroying 300,000 trees in over 3,000 dunams (750 acres) of man-planted forests and natural woodlands. (Taking into account the other fires that broke out across the country nearly 1,000,000 trees have been lost to date.) The Taglit-Birthright Israel: Shorashim/JNF group was there to help begin forest rehabilitation and prune trees lessening the chance they will catch fire in the future.
Greeted by Ilan, a Jewish National Fund (JNF) forester, they were told their forestry work was part of JNF’s Nof Moledet program, which means “creating our landscape with our own hands.” “In Israel,” said Ilan, “over 90% of our forests were planted by man, which means that they need a lot of care. It's very popular to come to Israel and plant a tree; it's also symbolic, but, they need a lot of care afterwards. We need a lot of helping hands for this work. The forest we'll be working in today is maintained by students from abroad.
"Zionism is about doing – when you do something physical, you get a sense of belonging. The forest here is a pine forest, and pine trees are survivors. They grow fast, they don’t need a lot of water, they grow in rocky areas, but they also burn very easily. Over the last few weeks we've experienced some major forest fires in this region caused by negligence and arson. In my opinion, this is a form of terrorism. The work we will be doing here today will help prevent future fires from spreading to areas that are still green."
Wearing gloves and using a saw, the groups cut off the lower branches of the pine trees, about one and a half meters from the ground up. This help prevents forest fires and channels the energy of the tree upwards allowing the sunlight to reach the forest floor, which encourages the rehabilitation of the indigenous Mediterranean forest.
The Nof Modelet project works with Shorashim to give young people visiting Israel the experience of actually working in the land of Israel. Most groups spend five hours working in the forest and learning about it, which is a form of practical Zionism and also ecological. Each group receives an area of its own to work in, so they get a feeling that it's 'their' forest and they can see progress from year to year. Last year, over 1,300 Taglit-Birthright Israel participants took part in KKL-JNF programs.
Said Irene Dashevsky, a JNF madricha on this Taglit-Birthright Israel: Shorashim/JNF program: "This group is from the East Coast, and for most of them, this is their first time in Israel. They are all either graduate students or already employed. The group includes 46 participants ages 22-26, and this is the fifth day of their 10-day visit. We were already at the Hula and other JNF projects in the north, and we will be visiting the Sderot indoor playground and other JNF USA projects in the south. Most of them have heard of JNF but usually identify the organization with trees, so this is a real eye-opener for them, besides creating a very strong connection with Israel and its people."
"Taglit-Birthright Israel brings people to Israel who would not have come here on their own," said Asaf Caravani, a licensed tour educator who was accompanying the group. "They don't have friends or family in Israel, otherwise they would have been here already. One of Shorashim’s principles is that Israelis are part of the group, so young people from Israel and the Diaspora get to know each other. This is a real opportunity for them and for us."
"This is my first time here,” said Jessica Wulkan of Boca Raton, Florida. “I signed up for Birthright because I wanted to connect with my religion, with my culture and with Israel. In terms of meeting my expectations, it's been what I expected and more. It's been an incredible experience, and I can barely find the words to describe my feelings. I didn't know much about JNF before I came here, but now I have a real sense of how important the work they are doing is. When I get back and hear something about JNF, I'll actually know what they're talking about."
Andrew Kaden works in finance in New York and was advised to go on a Birthright trip by his brother and sister who went on one 10 years ago. “I'm not religious,” he said, “but I'm really getting connected to the land. Something someone said up north in Tzefat really made an impression on me. He pointed out that Jews had been praying to return to Israel for two thousand years, and this wish was granted in my lifetime. Meeting the Israelis has also been great. I'm also very impressed by JNF's work to make it possible to live in the desert. I knew that JNF planted trees, but working here in the forest really makes that whole idea come alive."
"I went to Hebrew School and had a Bar Mitzvah, but since I went to Michigan to study business, Judaism hasn't really been a major part of my life," said Jason Tanker of Philadelphia. "I signed up for Birthright because I wanted to re-discover my roots. Being here in the forest is about as 'roots' in Israel as you can get. Everyone has heard about planting trees, but now I see what happens with the trees after they're planted."
Matt Lazar is also from Philadelphia: "I actually came because my brother, who is also here, convinced me to,” he said. “Now that I've seen the country, I have no doubt that I'll be back, but I need to save some money first. If someone asks me about JNF, I'll tell them about what we did here today."
”What the participants were saying before about their experience is typical,” said Yirmi David, a JNF staffer. “Over the years we have found that this hands-on experience of the land of Israel fosters a lasting Zionist awareness and attachment to Israel, the Jewish people, its history and culture. At the concluding meeting of the groups before they leave Israel, we often hear that the time spent working with JNF was the most significant part of their visit and would stay with them for a long time.That's exactly what we want to achieve."
Said one of the participants, talking about her experience on her cell phone: "I'm filthy, sweaty and exhausted, and I absolutely loved every minute of it!"
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