Each year, KKL-JNF celebrates the Tu BiShvat holiday—highlighting environmental values and the deep connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel—with its flagship tree-planting events. This year, the organization is also hosting guided tours, botanical activities, visits to KKL-JNF seed nurseries, and Tu BiShvat seders; inviting families and individuals in Israel to venture outdoors and take part in activities that foster environmental awareness and appreciation for the land.
Over the past weekend, thousands of Israelis ventured out, with high turnout continuing today (Sunday, the eve of Tu BiShvat), to participate in KKL-JNF’s activities from the north to the south of Israel. The organization has already distributed over 550,000 saplings from its nurseries nationwide, with numbers expected to continue growing throughout the coming planting week, as 2026 is already shaping up to be one of the most active years recorded in the past decade surrounding the holiday.
This year’s Tu BiShvat events carry added meaning as Israel continues its post-war rehabilitation, with communities emphasizing resilience, renewal, and regrowth. Nurturing the connection to the land is especially significant to Israelis during this time of national healing, as reflected by the thousands of participants thus far.
Eyal Ostrinsky, Chairman of KKL-JNF, said: "The record-breaking planting numbers and tremendous public response we're seeing this year go far beyond Tu BiShvat tradition, they are an expression of overcoming the difficult times we've endured and choosing life-just as Tu BiShvat plantings symbolize. After two years of war, the hundreds of thousands of Israelis going out into the field and planting hundreds of thousands of saplings prove that our bond to this land cannot be severed. This is the most resounding Zionist and national response: amid the challenges, we choose to deepen our roots, grow anew, and believe in the future of the State of Israel.