In her speech, given during the Israel Independence Day Reception held in the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Harris said: "I remember as a young girl growing up in the Bay Area in California, collecting donations on behalf of the Jewish National Fund. And for those of you who — I will date myself — who are old enough, you will remember those little blue boxes, which we would walk around asking people to please donate so we could plant trees in Israel."
"And yet," she added, "that act of us as children and young people was about so much more. It was about our sense of connection to the importance of building the State of Israel, helping the Jewish people thrive, dreaming together and willing the dream into reality."
The KKL-JNF staff was deeply moved by the speech, and Chairwoman Ifat Ovadia-Luski sent Harris an official letter thanking her for her contribution. "I was happy to hear of your efforts as a child in the bay area of California, to collect donations on behalf of the Jewish National Fund. In gratitude of your efforts from the days of your childhood, and as a reminder of the solid and special relationship between our two countries, we send you this official appreciation letter along with the blue box of the Jewish National Fund." Ovadia Luski added that "On this occasion, we invite you to visit Israel and to plant a tree in person in the forests of the KKL-JNF."
Photograph: Chaim Versano, KKL-JNF Photo Archive