A Christian group from Calacoaya, Mexico is currently visiting Israel. The delegation devoted a day to tree-planting with KKL-JNF: the organization’s Latin America department ferried the visitors to a tree-planting event in the President’s Forest (Tzora Forest), and then afterwards to a moving ceremony at which a Calacoaya Grove was inaugurated in the Israel-Mexico Friendship Forest, which forms part of Ben Shemen Forest.
“When we plant trees here we feel that we are a part of Israel,” declared Pastor Phellipe Garcia, one of the group’s organizers. “It is an honor for us to help to fulfil the prophecy that Israel will be a green land.”
The guests were pro-Israel Christians from the Christian Center (Centro Cristano Calacoaya) in Calacoaya - a township located close to Mexico City - who had come for two weeks of tours all over Israel, from Jerusalem to Galilee, from the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret).
Their day with KKL-JNF began with tree-planting at the planting center in the President’s - Tzora Forest to the west of Jerusalem, a site that enables visitors from all over the world to have the experience of planting a tree in Israel. Director of KKL-JNF’s Latin American Department Ariel Goldgewicht welcomed the visitors and informed them: “Over the years KKL-JNF has planted more than 240 million trees, and with the help of our friends we are transforming the desert into a green and flourishing region. Planting a tree is a selfless act designed to benefit the generations to come. By planting trees, we express our love for the world and nature.”
He told his guests about the midrash that emphasizes the importance Judaism attributes to tree-planting: “If a man engaged in planting a tree is told that the Messiah is on his way, he must first finish the job and only then may he set out to welcome him.”
The President’s-Tzora Forest extends over an area of about eleven thousand dunam (approx. 2,750 acres) in the Judean Foothills. KKL-JNF began to plant this woodland in the 1950s, and since then it has added a wide variety of local trees and provided recreation areas, scenic lookout points and footpaths for the benefit of the crowds of visitors who come to spend time at the site. The area is especially impressive at this time of year, when fresh green grass carpets the ground and scarlet anemones bloom among the saplings.
After Planting, center director Eran Zabadi had presented them with young pistachio trees and planting tools, the guests rolled up their sleeves and planted the saplings in the ground with their own hands.
Among the Mexican delegates was Pastor Gilberto Rocha. “Israel is God’s country,” he said. “The Jewish People have contributed a great deal to mankind, and they are a light to the Gentiles. Israel serves as a model for other countries, and we can all learn a great deal from it. Contrary to what is reported in the media, those who visit here find Israel to be a country of peace. It’s very impressive that at a time when other countries are cutting down their trees, Israel is busy planting, and today it has more trees than it did one hundred years ago. I feel that we are making history by planting these trees, and perhaps one day our children and grandchildren will come here to visit and see how these little saplings have grown.”
For Nirel Rocha, the pastor’s fifteen-year-old daughter, this was her second visit to Israel. “I love Israel very much – the people, the food and everything, actually. This is the first time in my life that I’ve planted a tree, and it was a really exciting experience,” she said.
After the planting, the delegates made their way to the Israel-Mexico Friendship Forest that was planted as a symbol of unity between the two peoples and to mark the 3,000th anniversary of the founding of Jerusalem. The site includes an appreciation center dedicated to Friends of KKL-JNF in Mexico – a solid monument to the profound love Mexicans, Jewish and non-Jewish, feel for Israel. A plaque expressing appreciation for the warm, friendly community of Calacoaya was unveiled during the Calacoaya Grove dedication ceremony.
Joel Rocha explained that Israel plays a major role in all the various spiritual, educational and social projects organized by the Calacoaya church. “The various different parts of the church are named after places in the Holy Land,” he said. “For example, the main prayer area is called “Israel,” while the “Jerusalem” section includes classrooms for ten-year-old children and the “Beersheba” section contains Bible-study classrooms. Israel plays an important part in everything we do, and we tell congregation members that, if they want to understand the Bible better, they must visit the land of the Bible.”
The Friendship Forest is situated in Ben Shemen forest park, which covers an area of some 22 thousand dunam (approx. 5,500 acres) and includes footpaths, cycling trails, active recreation areas and numerous picnic spots. The forest provides a green lung and a recreational venue in natural surroundings for residents of central Israel. This initial forest, planted by KKL-JNF over one hundred years ago, was the harbinger of what, with time, grew into a vast afforestation project that extends all over Israel.
Gaby De Bucio joined the Israel excursion together with her husband José Luis and her daughter Daniela. Although she had visited the country in the past, for the rest of the family this was their first time in Israel. “I promised them and myself that I would show them this wonderful country,” she said with emotion. “The fact that we’re all here together is a dream come true.”
When the day was over Ariel Goldgewicht took his leave of the delegation with warm words and, with a smile, added a heartfelt invitation: “You know, anyone who plants a tree has to come back and visit it.”
Read this article in Spanish