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PAGE 20 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE February 5, 1982
Totally Different
Authentic Chinese Cuisine
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// 3L si
Dim Sum Chinese Lunch
U / f/
Sat 12 00-4:00 P M
£/
Sun. 12:00-4:00 P M
Mon 11:30-3:00 P M
Open 7 Days, Lunch & Dinner
Large rooms for banquets or parties
Beer 4 Wine — Quick take-out service
Kenny Mui, Owner
457-6788
5295 Buford Hwy., 1 block N. ol finrtirr Flaza, Vi mi. S. ol 1-285
M-O-V-l-N-G?
Let us know three weeks
before you go.
Attach current
address label here.
NEW ADDRESS:
Name
Address
City, State Zip
For toiler service, attach your current address label (from newspa
per cover) In the space above. Then till In your new address and mall
to: The Southern Israelite, P.O. Box 77388, Atlanta, GA, 30357.
—T rees—
( ontinued from page 1.
In April 1918 Storrs issued two
edicts which were to have an
impact on the future character of
[he cits The first of these forbid
[he demolition or destruction of
ancient or historic buildings The
second forbid the use of either
stucco or corrugated iron with the
city walls “The tradition.”
according to Storrs, “of stone
vaulting" was “the heritage in
Jerusalem of an immemorial and a
hallowed past." His actions in
those earliest years of the British
occupation of Jerusalem not only
preserved the special character of
the city's building but also set a
tone which has been maintained
into the present.
While peace had been restored
in Jerusalem by the early part of
1918, the British forces continued
to fight in the northern part of
Palestine and in Syria throughout
the year. Not until Dec. 31, 1918,
did the Turks actually surrender,
finally providing the hoped-for total
British victory.
The first Jewish holiday
following this triumph was Tu
B’Shevat. Storrs and David Yellin,
a leading citizen of the community
as well as a noted educator, felt
that an excellent way to mark the
day was to commence the
afforestation of Mount Scopus,
where one day, in the near future, a
new university would arise.
To coordinate the effort Miss
Annie Landau, principal of the
Evalina de Rothschild school, was
conscripted. She worked with the
heads of the various Jerusalem
schools to develop a program lor
the Tu B’Shevat celebration It
would be a day, she assumed, when
the young people of Jerusalem
would plant saplings for future
generations to enjoy just as their
ancestors, the very early returnees
to Jerusalem, had planted for
them. The officials of the Jewish
National Fund indicated that they
would make available all the
young trees needed This would be
a dramatic example to the world of
the replanting of Jewish roots deep
in the soil of Jerusalem
Excitement filled the air
throughout the city on that Tu
B’Shevat in 1919 The youngsters
of Jerusalem were dressed in their
holiday best, as they prepared to
march from the Damascus Gate to
the appointed site on Mount
Scopus. Leading this seemingly
endless procession was a British
military band, whose notes
blended into sounds of joy. The
parade initially moved along the
Wall of the Old City, then past the
Arab village of Wadi Joz and the
British 20th Corps’ Kidron Valley
camp From there the marchers
climbed through the rocks to the
Augusta Victoria German Hospice
where a triumphant welcome
greeted them.
Moving on toward their
destination, the children sang
'loudly as they approached the
reviewing stand where the various
British officials were awaiting
them Colonel Storrs, greatly
moved by the event, had prepared
his brief remarks in Hebrew,
according to a press report
Looking out over this youthful
assemblage and the citizens of
Jerusalem Jew, Arab, Christian,
Armenian -who had come to
witness the festivities, he said in
part, “Dear children, you are
performing today a scared duty,
vou are planting trees in
commemoration and as a symbol
of the blossoming of your people
May it be His will, that these trees
grow and be an honor and glory to
you."
David Yellin shared the
reviewing stand with the British
and he too took the occasion to
compliment these young people on
their willingness to be planters
“These trees," he stressed, “will
come to be used for shade and
pleasure, but more important they
demonstrate that the Jewish
presence in Jerusalem is one that
has spanned all the centuries”
Yellin, who had taught many
generations of Jerusalemites from
the latter part of the 19th century
into this century and who was to
create the first teachers’ seminary
in Jerusalem, recited the blessing
for the planting of a tree with the
children and'ihen sent them out to
plant
Now the final act of this Tu
B’Shevat pageant was to occur In
small groups of four and five, the
children were led to the sites which
had been prepared for the
planting Close to 500 trees were
put in the ground all over Mount
Scopus, and many of them, now in
their majestic size, can still be seen
today near the site of the university
and on the campus itself. Some of
the planters of that day now bring
their grandchildren and great
grandchildren to see the trees they
planted 63 years ago.