Giuditta Matalon has been active in KKL Italy for seventy years, first as the executive secretary of the Milan office and in recent years as a volunteer and donor. This year she will be ninety years old, and she is currently visiting Israel and seeing the many projects she has supported. “I feel at home here,” she said, “and it’s very important for me to be involved in what happens in Israel.”
Over the years, many projects all over Israel have been undertaken with support from the Matalon family, and the KKL Italy delegation accompanying Giuditta Matalon on her visit to Israel toured some of them, including the therapeutic patio at the ALYN Hospital in Jerusalem, the renovated entrance to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, a classroom for special needs children in the Ramot Menashe Forest and the renovated entrance to the Ilan Center for Children with Disabilities in Kiryat Haim.
Many of the projects Matalon took part in funding benefit the younger generation. “Children are the future, which is why it’s particularly important for me to invest in them,” she said emphatically.
An Observation Point over the Gaza Strip
The tour of southern Israel began at an observation point on a hill near Kibbutz Nir Am with a view of the Gaza Strip. Arnon Ginat, a KKL-JNF representative, briefed the group about the area and spoke about KKL-JNF’s important work in developing border communities through projects in the fields of agriculture, water, tourism and education.
Sergio Castelbolognesi, the President of KKL Italy in Milan, who was also on the tour, said, “It’s very important to come to Israel, because it’s only when you are here and you see it for yourself that you can begin to understand what the State of Israel has to deal with.”
The remains of two Qassam rockets fired at the area were shown to the visitors to illustrate the lives of the residents in the shadow of the constant threat from across the border.
KKL-JNF has constructed a recognition site on the hill for its friends in Italy, and the plaques there attest to the extensive involvement of the Italian people in all areas of life in Israel. The life-saving tree planting along the Gaza border, the security road to the school in Saad, the leadership classroom at a Sdot Negev school and the Halutzit and Ganei Tal community development projects were implemented with the support of the Matalon and Modai families in Milan. Giuditta dedicated the projects to her brother, Beniamino Matalon, to her father, Alberto Avraam Matalon, and to her mother, Rachel Modai.
Rehabilitation Center in Sderot
The next stop on the tour was at the Ezra Lemarpeh Rehabilitation Center in Sderot, which is under construction, another project undertaken with support from the Matalon family. The center will be serving thousands of residents in southern Israel and will include a physiotherapy center, a therapeutic swimming pool, a lending center for medical equipment and an ambulance service center for the localities on the Gaza perimeter.
Alon Davidi, the Mayor of Sderot, came to meet the group and said, “Our job is not only to make sure the city survives but that it continues to grow regardless of the security situation. Together we are building a flourishing place here.” Davidi thanked Matalon sincerely for her support. “I am full of admiration for your connection to Sderot and for your empathy with the residents of the city. Every smile of every child entering the rehabilitation center will be because of you, and thanks to your assistance, and to our belief that this is our country, Sderot has turned into a leading city that is growing and prospering.”
Margalit Tirosh, the Director for the Rehabilitation Center building project, explained why it was so important for the Ezra Lemarpeh organization to open a branch in Sderot. “Our mission is to help people who are suffering, and the people who live along the Gaza border are enabling the State of Israel to prevail for the benefit of all of world Jewry.”
Architect Gil Vaadia led the tour of the site and explained that the building had been designed to affect an atmosphere of tranquility for the people whom it will be serving, which is why it will have no windows or doors facing the Gaza border, in case there is rocket fire.
Brilliant red anemones cover the fields and forests of the Negev this time of year, and the magnificent landscape formed a perfect backdrop for the tour. The lunch break was held at a rustic sheep farm, where they met Tzeela Gorodenchik, who was born on the farm and manages it. She showed them photos from the days when the farm was founded in the 1960s and spoke about the pioneering spirit then and now.
KKL-JNF Public Affairs Director Elisha Mizrahi joined the group and said, “This is the most beautiful region in Israel as far as I’m concerned, and the embrace we receive from our friends abroad gives us a lot of encouragement.”
Developing Agriculture at the R&D Station
Agriculture is the lifeblood of the residential communities near the Gaza perimeter. At the agricultural R&D station in the Besor Region, they met Liana Ganot, the Plant Protection Coordinator, who told them all about agriculture in the Negev. The R&D research scientists develop unique cultivation methods and cultivars that are suitable for the hot and arid climate of the Negev. This R&D station was the first regional agricultural R&D in Israel, and it focuses on developing technology for expanding the agricultural product line and increasing profitability for farmers through maximizing the region’s relative advantages.
Alongside finding solutions for current problems confronted by farmers, the R&D scientists are also involved in long term development of production technology and the introduction of new products. Some of the experiments being conducted there focus on saving water, biological pest control, organic agriculture, growing flowers, vegetables and herbs in greenhouses, groves and vineyards.
The visitors from Italy toured the R&D station and were impressed by the different agricultural produce. In the tomato greenhouse they learned that the tomato yield in that region constitutes 70% of all the tomatoes grown in Israel. In the strawberry greenhouse they saw the unique method developed at the R&D for growing strawberries suspended in the air, which facilitates the harvest and eliminates the pests. In the pineapple greenhouse they were surprised to find out that pineapples are being grown in the Negev.
“It’s so exciting to travel in Israel and meet the people. I feel like I am one of them,” concluded Giuditta Matalon.
Read this article in Italian