A delegation of five Czech foresters landed in Israel at the end of January, as part of an ongoing project to restore the Carmel, and activities to strengthen ties between the two countries. This is the eighth year that the group has come here to carry out voluntary forestation work since the major fire in the Carmel forest. The delegation will be staying in Israel until the middle of February and this year, will be working in the Atlit area.
For the eighth time in succession since 2010, a group of Czech Christian volunteers landed in Israel just prior to Tu B’Shvat. The group is organized and led by Karl Kana, and its members are volunteers who clean and rehabilitate Mt. Carmel. This year, work has been concentrated on the Atlit area, where, among other things, the volunteers have cleaned the carob trees in the area of the Ataturk recreation site, and the area of Mitzpe Ofer in the Carmel Coast forest.
Karl, the leader of the delegation, is a forest engineer by profession, and worked for 30 years in this capacity in the Czech Republic. He visits Israel every year, and is already planning next year’s trip. “We come here every year to help KKL-JNF and to help in the forest. Last year, we worked near Ussefiya, where the great fire began, and we also worked in the area of Nir Etzion and on the Carmel coast. We have made friends with many KKL-JNF staffers and are delighted to come here every year and help as volunteers.”
The relationship between Karl and KKL-JNF was established, as mentioned, after the great fire in 2010. He searched the Internet for a way to volunteer, and found it via the email address of Dr. Omri Boneh, the head of KKL-JNF’s northern district and the organization’s chief scientist. An exchange of emails led to the establishment of a special friendship between the group of volunteers from the Czech Republic and the KKL-JNF staffers, which remains in place to this day.
“These folks come here out of their own free will, and idealism. They feel that this is a way of contributing to their connection with the country. From the minute they arrived here, an amazing friendship was established”, says Etti Azulai, communications and public relations representative of the northern district, who is with the group while it is doing its work in Israel. “It’s almost like being with family. I visit them when they are here in Israel and they come to visit me on an individual basis, and we have a tradition that when they are here for a visit, they come to join me as guests at my house for a Shabbat meal. I was also their guest during the summer. The connection is a natural one. Working in the forest creates the kind of individual who easily makes friends. I do not speak English but our ability to communicate without using words is amazing.”
Karl also spoke of the warmth of the relationship that was created between the group and the State of Israel: “I love Israel. We have created relationships with the locals and found them to be very warmhearted. This touched us form the moment that they invited us to their Sabbath evening meal in their homes, because this is not something that often happens in the Czech Republic. The people there are much more closed and remote. The people in Israel are more open and more sociable.”
Regarding the differences between the forests in Israel and those in the Czech Republic, Karl said that: “You cannot compare them. Their purpose is different. In the Czech Republic, the goal is to use the trees for creating buildings and furniture. In Israel, the forests are more for the benefit of nature, outings and enjoyment, but we still take extra good care of our trees. They grow in the largest areas of the Czech Republic, in the mountains, and especially oak trees.”
The volunteers did not come to Israel as tourists, but KKL-JNF staff make sure that they are involved in a range of fun cultural activities. During their stay in Israel, they participated in a Tu B’Shvat Seder in the local community, and later on they went on a trip to the area of the national park at Beit Guvrin. The Park is an ancient archaeological wonder, an enormous city, lying underground, an enormous source of wells, halls, waterholes and factories. Their visit concluded, as mentioned, with a Sabbath meal at the home of Etti Azulai. The KKL-JNF team gave caps to the volunteers, together with dried fruits and passport holders, as a modest thank you gift.
In addition to Etti Azulai, who escorted the volunteers, Yehudit Perl-Strasser, of KKL-JNF’s the European Department, also spent a day with the delegation during their visit. Yehudit is responsible for communications with the KKL-JNF office in the Czech Republic, and even speaks a little Czech. She organized a morning break for the volunteers, which of course, included dried fruit in honor of Tu B’Shvat, and told them about the activities of KKL-JNF.
“The office in the Czech Republic is one of the first that we established overseas, and is responsible for activities in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. It is a small office and is involved with fundraising, publicity and education”, says Yehudit regarding the relationship between the Czech Republic and Israel. “The Czech Republic is one of Israel’s best friends in the United Nations, and one of the most “connected” countries. The office suggest needed projects in Israel to donors from there and has already recorded some success: the Czech Forest in Yatir, a new fire truck designed to combat forest fires, which was donated by the government of the Czech Republic, and Masaryk Forest, which is named after the first Czech president, who was supportive of the Zionist ideal.”
The Czech Republic delegation is small, but the assignment of Karl’s group is no small task. “Many people would like to come. They contact me or write to me and I have to identify who is suitable. Not tourists, but people who want to work. I have to identify who is most suited to the delegation from a social perspective too. We have a great group every year.”
One of them, who came for the first time this year, is Philip, who is a medical student. His parents were also on a previous delegation to Israel and he goes to the same church as Karl. “I came to Israel because I am a Christian and I know the stories from the Bible and I wanted to see how things were here. I know many Israelis and it was an opportunity for me to come and visit. I love the country and I will probably come back in the future for a trip. We heard about the fire eight years ago, and since then teams from the Czech Republic have been coming here to help.
For Michael, who has Jewish roots, this was his fifth visit to Israel: “This is a good experience for me because I love Israel. My grandparents were Jews who were murdered in a concentration camp. I was a forester for 7 years. Today I am a teacher. I love the people here, they are nice. In the Czech Republic they are colder. This year we were unable to travel, just to work, but 8 years ago, I came here as a tourist. I intend to come again next year too.”