These were the words of André Kuper, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Parliament, as he planted a Carob tree at the Yad Kennedy Memorial in the Jerusalem hills.
On his first visit to Israel, André Kuper, president of the parliament for the North Rhine-Westphalia province and a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said that he was honored to be able to plant a tree at the KLKL-JNF Yad Kennedy memorial.
“The members of my delegation and I are grateful for the opportunity to be here at the Kennedy Memorial today and to be given the honor to plant a tree,” said André Kuper.
He also quoted from the Book of Psalms: "The righteous is like a tree…blessed is the man… And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, which bringeth forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf doth not wither; and in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper.…"
Andre Kuper gives his newly planted carob tree its first irrigation. Photo: KKL-JNF
Kuper and his delegation, who were in Israel on an official visit, arrived on September 5th at the Yad Kennedy Memorial in the Jerusalem hills, where they were greeted by KKL-JNF Chief of Protocol Andy Michelson and Judith Perl-Strasser of the KKL-JNF European Department.
“In a place and a moment like this, many thoughts are going through one's head,” said Kuper. “Thoughts of John F. Kennedy, whose name was given to this place, and whose life was ended so abruptly. Thoughts about German-Israeli relations, which are incomparably shaped by the Shoah (Holocaust). Thoughts about the difficult questions and the longing for peace in this region.”
Accompanying Kuper were Paul Jurecky, CFO of JNF Germany and Director of the JNF office in Dusseldorf; Norbert Römer, Director of North Rhine-Westphalia German-Israel group, and Abraham Lehrer, Vice-president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
“Planting a tree is a symbol of life and hope for future generations,” Perl-Stasser told the delegation. “By planting a tree here in this soil, you will always be rooted here.”
Kuper, a member of the ruling Christian Democratic Union of Germany, planted a Carob sapling, which takes several years to bear fruit and then grows into a large tree that gives out pleasant shade.
Michelson welcomed the delegation, and noted that his own father was born in Berlin.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome you here today. We know it is a small part of your important trip here, but we hope you remember when you go home the planting of this tree with your own hands. It will be here and we will take care of it and it will become a nice big tree,” he said.
He explained that in Jewish tradition, the planting of a tree has great significance and is done to mark many life-cycle events.
Michelson noted that since 1901, KKL-JNF has planted more than 240 million trees in Israel, creating forests where there had been no natural forests such as the ones in Germany. Since its founding, KKL-JNF has also become involved in as the fields of water conservation and tourism, he said, keeping up with Israel’s ever evolving needs.
Prior to the tree planting, Römer, head of the parliamentary German-Israel group, recited the planter’s prayer in German. After he planted the young sapling, Perl-Strasser presented Kuper with a framed KKL-JNF Certificate of Appreciation.
“I am moved by the opportunity to plant this tree here, and I do so not for myself, but in order to promote the growth and the strengthening of the German-Israeli relations, the dialogue between the religions, and also for the exchange of youth between our countries,” said Kuper.