February 22, 2019: Members of Rotary Israel plant the first trees of the new Paul Harris Peace Forest in the Desert near Ofakim in the Negev.
A large crowd of over two hundred members of Rotary Israel and KKL-JNF attended the dedication of the “Paul Harris Peace Forest in the Desert” near Ofakim in the Negev.
Paul Harris was the person who founded the Rotary organization 110 years ago in Chicago, USA. The participants met outside the Eshel Hanasi Youth Village on Friday, February 22, 2019, and, led by a KKL-JNF guide, drove in convoy across several kilometers of dry desert terrain to the spot where the new forest was to be planted.
On-site to greet the visitors was KKL-JNF Fundraising Department Director
Michael Ben Abu. He warmly welcomed the guests and told them: “KKL-JNF is proud to partner with the Rotary organization to create a forest for the benefit of
the residents of the area and visitors from the rest of Israel and around the world. We hope and believe that the Paul Harris Peace Forest in the Desert will become a special rallying point, not only for the many Rotary members in Israel and abroad, but also for all those visitors from around the world who come to witness the miracle of transforming the desert into a garden. Rotary and its members are part of that miracle.”
Ben Abu called on
Alon Bendet, Governor of Rotary Israel, and other present Rotary officials, to unveil the KKL-JNF plaque marking the establishment of Rotary Israel's Paul Harris Peace Forest in the Desert.
The forest’s establishment will have a significant positive ecological impact, and is a meaningful action strongly rooted in the vision of Rotary International, an apolitical organization where laypeople, professionals and business owners engage in social activism on behalf of their local communities and the world at large. Rotary International has been operating already for 114 years.
Founded in Chicago by Paul Harris and three other members in order to help the community, the organization currently has more than 1.2 million members in 36,000 clubs around the world, and promotes significant local and international activism in health, education, water and sanitation, conflict resolution and more under the mottoes Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best.
Rotary has been operating in Israel since 1929 with the establishment of the first Rotary club in the country 90 years ago in Jerusalem. Today, there are 58 Rotary clubs in Israel, with about 1,500 members.
Dr. Uzi Tapuchi, the principal of the nearby Eshel Hanasi Youth Village, told the participants that this was a particularly exciting and emotional event for him because the new forest “is going to contribute so much for the benefit and well-being of the residents of the Negev.” He thanked Rotary Israel and KKL-JNF for joining forces to carry out the project. He quoted the renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead, who said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
Next at the podium was former Rotary Governor
Emile al-Asmar, who is today the Chairman of the Rotary Forest Association. al-Asmar said that he is thrilled to be present at yet another dedication of a Paul Harris forest in Israel. “This year marks the 54th anniversary of the planting of the first Paul Harris Forest, in Safed, in cooperation with KKL-JNF. Until today that was the only forest in the world that was named after the founder of the Rotary organization. I am proud to stand before you as chairman of the Rotary Forest Association at the dedication of yet another Paul Harris Forest.”
Rotary Israel Governor
Alon Bendet greeted the participants and told them that the trees they were about to plant were not for themselves but rather for coming generations. “My friends,” he said, “this is a very important and blessed ecological project. We are not only planting trees for our children and towards advancing Ben Gurion’s dream to make the desert bloom, we are contributing to the worldwide effort to stop climate change, global warming, and desertification.”
Bendet added that the date of the forest dedication ceremony was not selected by chance: “Tomorrow [February 23] is the 114th anniversary of the establishment of Rotary, so today marks a double celebration.”
Rabbi
Yossi Bistritzky, Rabbi of Lehavim, read the Planter’s Prayer. He told them that having grown up in Safed, not far from the Paul Harris Peace Forest there, made this is an emotional experience for him. “I remember the framed KKL-JNF tree planting certificate in our home which my parents received for a tree that was planted in my name on the day I was born. My father was the chief Rabbi of Safed at the time. Attending this ceremony is the closing of a circle for me.” At the conclusion of the prayer, the ceremony participants planted the first saplings of the Paul Harris Peace Forest in the Desert.
The dedication ceremony for new forest ended at the
KKL-JNF Nursery in Gilat, where a permanent stone plaque was unveiled and the principal Rotary officials were presented with KKL-JNF tree planting certificates. Gilat Nursery Director
Pablo Chercasky invited all the guests on a tour of the nursery, during which he explained special germination techniques for desert trees and other plants, which were developed by KKL-JNF and practiced at the facility. He showed them, for example, how saplings were grown in containers above the ground in order that the roots grow stronger rather than longer.
During the Gilat Nursery visit, Michael Ben Abu reminded the Rotary members that they have an open invitation to bring other Rotary members and visitors from abroad to visit the Paul Harris Forest in the Desert and the Gilat Nursery donor site.