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28 June 2010

 

JNF Lord Sacks Mission – a resounding success

The recent JNF-Lord Sacks Mission to three JNF projects finished on a triumphant note when at sunset on Wednesday, 16 June 2010 a spectacular new forest in the Jerusalem foothills was officially dedicated to the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks in honour of his recent elevation to the House of Lords.

 
In an emotional ceremony, the first of 25,000 trees in the Lord Sacks Forest was planted by the Chief Rabbi. Over 150 people attended this historic event, including Lady Sacks, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon, HE Ambassador Ron Prosor and HM Ambassador Sir Tom Phillips.  Also present was the newly-wed MP for Hendon, Matthew Offord with his wife Claire.

JNF UK Chairman, Samuel Hayek said “When Rabbi Sacks entered the House of Lords, it was an honour to the entire Jewish community and it is most fitting to mark the occasion by planting a forest and beautifying Jerusalem.  The forest is an expression of our love of Israel and of Lord Sacks, and is a contribution to enhancing the environment, a topic the world is concerned with today and a field in which JNF has always been a pioneering organisation."

Lord Sacks responded; ‘There is no honour we have received or could receive that is greater than to have a forest dedicated in our name in the place that the Jewish nation calls home’.

Earlier in the day, Mission participants had witnessed the astonishing results the farmers of the Halutziot communities were achieving, growing crops in the sand and the visitors willingly helped to lay the concrete for the cornerstone of a new girls school for the southern Negev community.

 
They were also awed by the sheer scale of the reservoir refurbishment work being undertaken at Masu’ot Negba and heard how vital the water supplies will be to the adjacent agricultural farms.  

 
JNF UK Chief Executive Elliot Conway commented: “Planting and Building are the two complementary processes that lie beneath all progress and development in the world.

“Growth is a natural, organic process. Seeds placed in soil will sprout on their own, so will trees and flowers. In contrast, construction is a manual process. One lays foundations, and then places bricks upon it until completion. We are supposed to combine these two processes in everything we do, whether it’s educating our children or developing our homeland. Creating a strong framework and then encouraging things to flourish within it.

 
“This, in essence, is what we are privileged to be doing at the JNF.  We are planting and we are building. The remarkable Lord Sacks Forest and the inspirational people building new lives for themselves in the southern sands of Halutza are perfect examples of both of these endeavours. Sowing seeds, creating forests, building communities, houses, schools and hospitals.”

JNF and its partners are changing the face of what Israel looks like today and what Israel will look like in 50 and 100 years’ time.  

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