A delegation led by KKL-JNF Director-General Amnon Ben Ami set out in early May for Budapest, Hungary, to look into possibilities for environmental collaboration with Hungarian government ministries and to strengthen ties with the local Jewish community.The KKL-JNF delegation, which arrived in Budapest on May 3, also included
Karine Bolton-Laor, director of the KKL-JNF
International Relations Department,
Simon Elbaz, head of KKL-JNF’s
Education Division, and
Lin Dror, projects coordinator in the International Relations Department. The delegation’s first stop was the Scheiber Sándor School, one of three schools with connections to the Jewish community. Jewish and non-Jewish pupils attend the school, which offers traditional Jewish studies as well as classes on the Land of Israel. As
Ákos Nagy, the communications director of the Jewish community, said, “Budapest is a very open and accepting city. Since everyone here has Jewish friends or Jewish roots, many people choose to attend our school.” During the visit, the delegation and their hosts discussed hosting pupils in Israel and sending a delegation of teachers to Israel.
Joint Forestry Research: A Meeting with Dr. István Nagy, Parliamentary Secretary of State for Agriculture
In his welcoming remarks to the KKL-JNF delegation, Dr. Nagy said, “We have engaged in many projects with the Jewish community, and we will keep doing so in the future. I am very happy to become acquainted with KKL-JNF and to look into working together.”
KKL-JNF Director General
Amnon Ben Ami spoke briefly about the
history of KKL-JNF, its role in Israel, and its work in many countries throughout the world in areas such as
water conservation,
forestry, and
combatting desertification. András Heisler, president of the Federation of Jewish communities in Hungary, told the guests about a
joint rehabilitation project in a park in Budapest where 35 trees will be planted in addition to the 35 trees that KKL-JNF planted in Israel.
The discussion centered on the state of the forests in Hungary and upon water conservation. The deputy secretary of state said that in Hungary, “There are many sandy regions, and we have succeeded in foresting them. Since the 1920s, we have managed to raise the percentage of forestation from 12 to 21 percent, and we hope to reach 27 percent.”
Mr. Ben Ami summed up the in-depth and productive discussion by saying: “This meeting is the start of a long road. I am happy that these are the topics that you are addressing, and I think that there is potential for cooperation. Dr. David Brand, KKL-JNF’s Chief Forester, will be in touch with you.” The deputy secretary agreed, saying, “We are open to all suggestions, especially to professional and technological knowledge, and we will be at your service in everything concerning forestry.”
“Israel Stands Out in the Middle East”: A Meeting with Levente Benkö, Hungary’s Next Ambassador to Israel
In his meeting with the KKL-JNF delegation,
Levente Benkö, Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Hungary’s next ambassador to Israel, said: “I have traveled a great deal to the Middle East recently, and we see the difference between Israel and other countries in the region. We also see the contrasts regarding environmental conservation. I am happy that KKL-JNF is my first connection in my new context. I have heard a great deal about KKL-JNF and its work, and I am at your service on any question.”
Mr. Ben Ami invited Mr. Benkö to visit KKL-JNF’s projects upon his arrival in Israel. Regarding Mr. Benkö’s current role, Ms. Bolton-Laor said, “Even though we are not addressing security affairs, our work influences that area as well. Through projects whose purpose is to strengthen the economy and local
agriculture, we have the ability to influence processes of migration. Our vision is to strengthen the inhabitants of
Africa by sharing farming technology, which will help them produce food independently and be self-supporting.”
Cooperation in Education
After the meetings with representatives of the Hungarian government, the KKL-JNF delegation met with the leadership of the Jewish community, headed by Mr.
András Heisler, the president of the community. “The fate of the Jews in Hungary was a harsh one,” Mr. Heisler said, “and the community has been hurt twice: once in the
Holocaust, in which 600,000 Jews were murdered, and again by the Communists’ laws. Our plan is to restore Jewish pride to the community, so ties with officials in the State of Israel are important to us. The Federation has 24 member communities, the largest of which is Budapest, which has 14 synagogues, and we have sister communities. The most important areas for cooperation are education and young leadership.”
The Israeli delegation listened attentively to Mr. Heisler, and Simon Elbaz, head of KKL-JNF’s Education Division, supported his statements. “There is another crisis in the Jewish world — assimilation,” he said. “One way to address it is through education and stronger ties with Jewish communities and with Israeli Jewry, starting from early childhood up to university. We in KKL-JNF are adapting our content to Diaspora Jewry, and specifically for each community.”
Amnon Ben Ami said that all of the Education Division’s material could be translated into Hungarian, and offered to bring a special emissary for education from KKL-JNF to Hungary.
Henriett Kiss, vice principal of Scheiber Sándor School in Budapest, has visited Israel in the past. “The thing most lacking in our education is the connection with the State of Israel,” she said. “As a teacher, I taught courses and preparation in kindergartens and boarding schools in the Western Galilee. There is a lack of creativity in education in Hungary, and the way of thinking of our colleagues in Israel helped us with that a great deal.” The representatives of the Jewish community and the KKL-JNF delegation decided to strengthen the new relationship that was created between the community and KKL-JNF, and build a long-term program so that KKL-JNF will be present once more in the Jewish community.”
KKL-JNF’s delegation to Hungary also visited Merzse Marshland, the largest nature reserve in the Budapest region. There they spoke with local foresters who told them about the character of the forest, the flora and fauna, and the main problems that they are dealing with. On Friday night, the delegation members attended a Sabbath evening service in the Great Synagogue on Dohány Street, and on Saturday night they dined with the heads of the Jewish community at a traditional restaurant in Buda.
Ceremony Marking Israel’s Seventieth Anniversary
Mr. Ben Ami, together with Rachel Nagy, a ten-year-old pupil in the Lauder Javne Community School, planted a tree at a city park in Budapest in honor of Israel’s seventieth anniversary. Rachel, who speaks Hebrew, is the daughter of Ákos Nagy, the Jewish community’s media director. Mr. András Heisler, the president of the Jewish community, addressed the gathering, as did Israeli Ambassador Yossi Amrani and the deputy mayor of Budapest. Mr. Ben Ami spoke in the name of KKL-JNF. In addition to other organizations that were present, KKL-JNF had an information stand at the event with brochures about its work. Rachel, who volunteered to help, told visitors about KKL-JNF with great enthusiasm.
“I was very excited to meet the friends from KKL-JNF and plant a tree with the director-general,” Rachel said. “As a pupil in the Lauder Jewish School, I would be very happy to learn about KKL-JNF’s work and learn more about Israel.”
“I am proud and touched to be with you here in beautiful Budapest on the banks of the Danube River, and to open a new era of friendship and cooperation between KKL-JNF — which is considered the most ecologically-friendly Zionist organization in the world — and the Jewish community in Hungary, which has a glorious chapter in the history of the Jewish people,” Amnon Ben Ami told the gathering. “I am glad that among the discussions that we held over the past several days with the president of the Jewish community and officials of the Hungarian government, we will move forward with productive and effective cooperation. The seventieth-anniversary celebrations are a great occasion for joy, which is shared by the entire Jewish nation. Our brothers and sisters overseas play a major role in the great miracle and the moments of success in the Zionist enterprise. We rely on one another in times of crisis. This is a reciprocal alliance that must be strengthened and encouraged, and we at KKL-JNF will continue to strengthen and support the inhabitants of Israel, the State of Israel, and the Jewish people in the Diaspora.”