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Children form bond
JNF forest creates pen-pals
by Bunny Alexandronl
Natalie Ruth Cohen from Paris
and Shoshana Roth from Pardo
Hanna; Stephen Fraenkel from
New York and Youi Aaher from
Bat Yam—two among thousands
of pairs of youngsters from all over
the world linked together by one of
the most far-reaching educational
projects ever undertaken by the
Jewish National Fund: the
Children's Forest in Galilee.
The almost endless lists of
names are of Israeli children who
have written letters in Hebrew and
the youngsters from abroad who
have already replied. Through the
forest these children have forged
ties of friendship which* it is
hoped, will continue and expand
through the years.
For the Israeli children, the
project makes them aware of the
bonds which exist between Jews
everywhere. The Israeli youngsters
initiated the correspondence by
asking their counterparts to join in
planting three trees in Israel—one
in their name, one in the name of
the overseas child, and one in the
memory of a child who died in the
Holocaust.
At first, the Israeli youngsters
were sceptical. It was difficult for
many of them to believe—
especially those from small towns
and outlying areas—that children
in far away lands would be
interested in them. Still, they
participated, and the educators
and organizers of the project were
delighted with the display of
Zionism and love of country which
the Israelis expressed in their
letters.
“P.S.," wrote one little girl, “our
mountains are not as high as the
Himalayas, but we have many
beautiful kibbutzim." “Snow is
something special in Israel,"
another child wrote, ending her
letter with a prayer for peace and
for Jerusalem to become the center
for all Jews.
Some of the letters deal with
more practical problems. Dina
likes “to ride my bicycle when my
daddy remembers to fix it for me."
Sigal, from Belgium, to Sigal in
Jerusalem: “I hope you come to
visit me in Belgium” Another
Belgian youth proposes an
opposite direction: “Although the
Jews don’t have any problems in
this country, we all want to go to
live in Israel, so let us pray—‘Next
year in Jerusalem’.”
But the most practical of all is
Danny, from Paris, who writes to
his new friend in Israel: “1 am
happy to plant trees with you in
Israel, but do you think we’ll have
enough money?”
While most of the letters from
abroad are in the native language
of the writer, many are written in
Hebrew—in varying degrees of
proficiency, depending on the age
and school of the author.
teachers, relatives or the local
rabbi help these children overcome
the language barrier. For the
children abroad, the project was a
timely vehicle their teachers used
to involve them in celebrations of
Israel's 30th anniversary of
independence. The project
provides not only letters from
throughout Israel, but an
information kit with maps,
pamphlets, game pages and ideas
for special events.
Last Tu Bishvat, at Goren, in
Galilee, the Children's Forest was
launched by 3,000 Israeli
youngsters from schools all over
the country who planted the first
saplings in the presence of the
then-president of Israel, Ephraim
Katzir.
One of the participants of the
dedication ceremony, a new
immigrant, was 12-year-old A vie
Geffen, grandson of Mr. and Mrs.
Louis Geffen of Atlanta, who put
into words the importance of
building bridges to the Diaspora.
He explained that when he was in
school in the States he had given
money for trees in Israel, but only
now, planting with his own hands,
did he realize what this meant.
“Here, I feel better, because
planting by myself, I know its
real," he explained. “That’s why 1
hope my partner can come to Israel
some day and see the trees that we
planted, and I hope lots of children
will come here to meet their Israeli
friends." Avie’s parents are Rabbi
and Mrs. David Geffen, who
recently made Aliyah.
Many of the children drew
pictures around the borders or
along the bottom of their letters,
such as Hanna, from Austria, who
tried to envision Israel by drawing
a large smiling sun and three trees
labelled, “yours, mine and
ours.” Other children drew flags of
their own countries next to the flag
of Israel, Stars of David and hearts
and flowers, or they attached
pictures of themselves, their dogs,
their best friend, or their worst
brother.
Letter from South America
This letter to the JNF Children’s Forest Project came from
Paulo who lives in a small village in South America where the few
Jews who live there have little or no connection with Judaism or
Israel.
Dear Friend in Israel,
/ am twelve years old and I like to play ball and collect stamps. I
don't think you will believe me when / tell you how happy / was to
receive your letter, but, before now, I have only heard about Israel
from the radio and newspapers and that is very little, for we are far
apart.
My parents are Jewish but we are not religious, nor is there any
place here to learn about religion. But now / have your letter which
my cousin sent from his Hebrew School in Sao Paulo. He also sent
me the booklet about Galilee and the story about the Holocaust,
but when my mother saw me reading she became very sad and told
me that her younger brother had been killed in a concentration
camp, though she was saved when they were children.
So now / want to join you in planting trees in Israel: one for you,
my new friend, because now I know about you and hope you will
send me pictures and stories about your beautiful country which I
would like to visit one day: one tree for me, because / hope to write
to you very often: and the third tree in memory of a child who died
in the Holocaust. / shall think of it as being planted for my uncle
who I never knew.
Waiting to hear from you. Your friend, Paulo.
SHopperX
SHoWcasc
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