Children planting trees in the Biriya forest near Safed on Monday. Photo credit: Dror Artzi – Jini byDan Lavie and Itsik SabanTu B’Shevat, “birthday for the trees,” falls on Wednesday this year • Trees have already been planted in the Biriya forest near Safed and bulbs of protected flowers have been planted in mountains near Jerusalem • JNF celebrates 110 years of activity.
Thanks to Israel HaYom
Tu B’Shevat (the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat), also known as the “birthday for the trees,” falls on Tuesday night-Wednesday this year, with the focus of the holiday to be, once again, the planting of trees throughout Israel. This year, however, the day also marks the Jewish National Fund’s 110th birthday.
According to estimates, more than 1.1 million trees and plants will be planted across the country on Tu B’Shevat, and the first-ever virtual “social forest” will also be launched this year, according to JNF Chairman Efi Stenzler. The plan is to have Internet users “plant” virtual trees, and for each one a real tree will be planted by JNF personnel in Israeli forests.
Some Tu B’Shevat events were held last week, and tree-planting began on Monday in the Biriya forest near the northern city of Safed, while the main celebration is scheduled for Wednesday in the Beersheba River Park. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to attend the celebration, with Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan, JNF Chairman Stenzler and Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovich.
A tour of Beit Eshel, a former settlement in Mandate Palestine two kilometers southeast of Beersheba, which was later replaced by a moshav, will follow the festivities.
The JNF called on the Israeli public to join them in planting trees on Wednesday and provided a local phone number (1-800-350-550) for Israelis to reserve a tree-planting spot.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to hold several events marking Tu B’Shevat throughout the week, including a “Fairytale Evening” event in Jerusalem on Tuesday, which will include a lecture on trees in the Jerusalem area. An event called “An Evening of Green Songs” will be held Thursday in Jerusalem’s Sergei Courtyard.
The police celebrated Tu B’Shevat a day early, on Tuesday, with senior officers – led by Police Commissioner Insp. Gen. Yohanan Danino – planting bulbs of protected flowers in the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. The bulbs were donated by the fledgling police national training center, which is under construction on a mountain just west of Beit Shemesh.
During preparation of the construction site, workers discovered many protected flowers in the area, and police officers, in coordination with the Nature and Parks Authority, decided to save the bulbs and transplant them elsewhere.
