President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia in West Africa planted a tree in Jerusalem, in the Grove of Nations, at a ceremony held on June 6, 2016. The tree planting ceremony was part of her three-day visit in the Holy Land.
The ceremony was attended by the Israel Ambassador to Liberia, HE Mr. Ami Mehl; the Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Marjon Kamara; the Minister of National Defence, Mr. Brownie Samukai; the Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Amara Konneh; and the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at the William V.S. Tubman University, Rev. Rita Townsend. It was emceed by Mr. Andy Michelson, KKL-JNF Chief of Protocol, and Ms. Barbara Goldstein, a member of the KKL-JNF Board of Directors.
“We will do all that we can in order to be part of the peace processes, part of the unity processes, not only of Israel and of Liberia, but all over the world. When I plant the tree, it will be an unforgettable moment for me, something I will take with me for the rest of my life, and I will be able to say that I, too, gave something to the land of Israel. I will be leaving something behind that will live for so many years,” said the President of Liberia, Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in her speech at the festive ceremony.
The tree planting ceremony with the Liberian President took place on Monday, June 6, 2016, in the Grove of Nations, which is located in the Jerusalem Forest, in the valley below Yad Vashem, the World Center for Holocaust Commemoration.
President Sirleaf, who was born in Liberia in 1938, is the first female black president in the world and the first female to have been elected on the African continent to serve in a position as high-ranking as a head of state. She studied in the United States and had to exile herself from her country because of a military coup. She returned to Liberia in 1985, protested against the military regime and was compelled to leave Liberia again. In 2005, she was officially elected to be the first black president in Africa and was one of three women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
Ms. Barbara Goldstein addressed President Sirleaf with emotion and stressed the Liberian President’s importance as the female leader of such a great nation. “Among other things,” said Ms. Goldstein, “I represent Hadassah, which is the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, the largest Jewish women’s organization in the world and the largest women’s organization in America, numbering 340,000 members. Feminine power, especially the very fact of your presence here -it’s a privilege for me to say to you, among all the distinguished gentlemen present, that it’s a great honor to be hosting you, as the leader of such a great and wonderful nation, and you, as such an illustrious leader.”
After President Sirleaf spoke, Mr. Andy Michelson, the KKL-JNF Chief of Protocol, who emceed the ceremony, spoke again and thanked her with all his heart for her words. “I thank you,” he said, “on behalf of Israel and the people who live here. It’s nice to know that we have friends beyond the sea. Sometimes we feel a little attacked, and it’s good for us to know from world leaders that there are people who understand what we are going through here, and that we share the same opinions and ideas.”
When the speeches were concluded, the Israel Ambassador to Liberia HE Ami Mehl, and the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at the William V.S. Tubman University of Liberia, Rev. Rita Townsend, recited the Planter’s Prayer in Hebrew and in English, after which all the guests proceeded to the grove and began planting the tree.
Taking part in the planting, together with the Liberian president, were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Marjon Kamara, the Minister of National Defence, Mr. Brownie Samukai, and the Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Amara Konneh.
As the ceremony came to an end, Ms. Barbara Goldstein presented President Sirleaf with a framed certificate of recognition for having planted a tree in the Grove of Nations.