Israel: a national passion for trees - includes related information

American Forests, July-August, 1990 by Mary Elaine Lora

"In most countries people are born to forests, and forests are given to them by nature. But here in this country . . . if you see a tree, it was planted by somebody. "

Moshe Rivlin, world chairman of the jewish National Fund, is speaking of Israel and its amazing afforestation program. In a land with seemingly insurmountable problems, the Israelis have planted more than 185 million trees, creating 280 forests that cover 275,000 acres. Every year they plant an additional 5,000 acres-in deserts where the annual rainfall averages as little as 3 1/2 inches, on mountains where slopes run 50 percent or more, in cities where rapid population growth puts added pressure on the land.

In Israel, says Rivlin nonchalantly, "You have to do the impossible."

That task falls to the jewish National Fund (JNF). Founded in 1901 and headquartered in Jerusalem, JNF was originally charged with purchasing land in Israel and holding it in trust for the eventual return of the Jewish people. Now its major activities are afforestation and land reclamation.

"Afforestation in Israel developed by trial and error," explains Dr. Menachem Sachs, director of JNF's southern afforestation region.

The Jews returning to Israel at the end of the last century found a denuded country. The pine and oak forests of Biblical times had been cut by successive conquerors and laid bare by centuries of uncontrolled grazing. The final blow came in the 19th century when the ruling Ottoman Turks clearcut whatever forest remained to obtain timber for building the trans-Arabian railroad. They left the country more than 97 percent bare.

"Things had to be done," Sachs says, "and things happened."

For example, the malaria-infested swamps of the Hula Valley had to be drained; so JNF planted trees, redeeming the land for agriculture. The steep slopes above Tiberias were subject to mudslides; so JNF anchored them with trees, hand-planting each seedling.

"Mostly what we are doing is implementing knowledge out of books and trying to use agricultural means to create the forest," adds Natan Sas, director of the central afforestation region. To augment that book knowledge, JNF has approximately 20 forestry research projects under way in cooperation with various academic institutions.

Like Natan Sas, many of the JNF people directing afforestation efforts were trained in agriculture or horticulture rather than forestry. And their goals are somewhat different from those of the average American forester. "Wood production is a byproduct," Sas says. Israel's forests supply about 10 percent of the wood the nation needs, and most of that comes from thinnings or clearing for roads. The main purpose for planting forests is to make Israel more livable.

Trees rebuild the soil and prevent erosion. In sparsely populated areas, they are used to help establish new settlements and create a Jewish presence. Along the borders, trees are planted for defense. And in cities, forested parks are vital sites for recreation.

Many of Israel's trees are planted by volunteers. In the early days of statehood, tree planting provided work for the flood of immigrants. Today, during Tu B'Shevat, the New Year of the Tree, hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren, factory workers, and urban dwellers head for the countryside to plant saplings. For those planning a visit to Israel, the holiday will fall on January 30 in 1991.) Throughout the year visitors and pilgrims have the opportunity to Plant a Tree with Your Own Hands" for a small fee. Among those who have done so are Elizabeth Taylor, Brooke Shields, folk-singers Peter, Paul, and Mary, Senators Edward Kennedy and Daniel Moynihan, Dr. Henry Kissinger, and the late president of Egypt, Anwar-el-Sadat. Altogether, officials estimate, 15 to 17 percent of the five million saplings israel plants every year are planted not by paid staff but by eager volunteers.

Israeli forestry is also somewhat unusual in terms of land ownership and funding. Originally in the business of raising money and buying land, JNF ceded most of its holdings to the state of Israel in 1960 and accepted responsibility for afforestation and development of all publicly owned lands. (Some 92 percent of Israel's land area is publicly owned and leased to agricultural interests, community developments, or individuals for 49-year terms.)

Fund-raising remains an essential activity, however. JNF's annual budget is $110 million, according to Avraham Kalman, director of the fund's USA Department. Half of that comes from lease fees, about 10 percent from the sale of wood products, and the rest from donations. "We have a JNF office in every western democratic country in the world," Kalman says, and a JNF Blue Box in practically every jewish home for Sabbath offerings.

With the money it raises, JNF is changing the face of Israel.

In the Negev, the vast wasteland that occupies the southern half of Israel, JNF foresters are using trees to transform desert into savanna.

At Dudaim, for example, David Nachmias, director of JNF's Land Development Authority, points to a barren, brown landscape cut by gullies. "This area is a desert that was made by people," he says. Years of overgrazing removed practically all vegetation, exposing the limestone soils to increased runoff and erosion.