He noted that Lithuanians are very proud of the learned Jewish “Litvaks” from Vilna, whose great knowledge and erudition gave the city its nickname, “the Jerusalem of the North.” Unfortunately, he added, the great tragedy of the Holocaust left Vilna bereft of its vibrant Jewish community. “The bond between us, however, is very strong, which is why we are very happy to be here in Israel,” he said.
Mr. Zeev Kedem, director of KKL-JNF fundraising division and Mr. Andy Michelson, KKL-JNF's Head of Protocol, greeted the prime minister on his arrival to the grove. Kedem invited the prime minister to unveil the special plaque commemorating the planting of his olive tree sapling, the 46th tree to be planted at the Grove of Nations in the Jerusalem Forest, where visiting heads of state are invited to plant trees.
“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you here today, to this very special place. Even the weather is smiling on us this morning,” said Michelson. “Planting trees is very important to us, because it is a symbol of life. Although you will be going back to Lithuania in a few days, you will have left something here in Israel, a little tree that is living and growing. We hope that whenever you come back, you will come here and visit this site.”
In his remarks to the prime minister, Kedem recounted a legend that when God created the world, He first decided to make a model, to try out different ideas. He made a shoreline, different types of mountains, one lake with salt water and another with sweet water, and a river connecting the two. God looked at the model and liked what He saw, so He decided to create the world using the model. “The small model is the Land of Israel, the land people often call the holy land,” said Kedem.