Saturday, August 17, 2013

Our urban park, thanks to German friends

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 Back where I came from, the Jerusalem Hills, you never see olive trees in orderly rows.
They just grow scattered all over the terraced hills.
So when I saw these long rows in a wadi in my new home of Meitar in the Negev, I had to investigate.


Fortunately there were plaques.


So!  It is the Olive Tree Park of Meitar, funded in 2009 by the Friends of the Keren Kayemet/Jewish National Fund in Germany. 

They wrote WITH LOVE AND IN RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL'S PLANTING NEW COMMUNITIES IN THE NEGEV.

 German friends Ingrid and Hans-Dieter Roth of Wiesbaden gave Meitar another important gift--a fire watchtower.
I still have to find the tower but meanwhile here is an article about it and its dedication.

The blessing on the sign is from the Torah,  Numbers 6:24:
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה, וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
 "The Lord bless you and keep you"  (keep as in keep you safe, e.g. from forest fires!).


As a resident told the visiting Germans, "The Olive Tree Park creates a real bond between the people who live in Meitar and the people who feel connected to Israel in Germany."
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15 comments:

  1. Nice... I have never seen an Olive tree before let alone so nicely planted as I see here. My heritage is German, so this is really neat. I like this, a very touching tribute.

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  2. The olive trees are beautiful, Dina. Looks like you have a lot of wonderful things in your new neighborhood. Have a great weekend.

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  3. Exploring your new neighborhood with you is very educational as well as interesting. This was a beautiful gift to your new community.

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  4. This is interesting , I love the olives trees, do they harvest them so you can have fresh olive oil? Shabbat shalom Dina.

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  5. MJ, I wish I could mail you an olive branch so you could finally touch an olive tree.

    Thanks Cloudia, Sara, Kay!

    Suzanne, we'll find out in a month or two . . .

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  6. Dina, your new neighborhood looks really pleasant and interesting. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. You are intrepid, Dina. I love your investigations.

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  8. Not a big olive guy... but LOVE a good tree.

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  9. A nice surprise and some really useful things...

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  10. 彡♪♫°
    Passei para uma visita.
    Belas fotos!!!

    °º✿♫ Boa semana!
    °º✿ Beijinhos
    º° ✿ °❤ Brasil ♫° ·.

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  11. Interesting post, Dina. And a nice tribute from the Greman friends!

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  12. Enjoyed read your post. such interesting post...

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  13. Dear Dina, thanks for your kind words on my blog - it's good to be back :)

    And welcome to your new town! Being Telavivian :) I of course had no idea where Meitar was, so I had to check the map... this seems like a big change from Jerusalem Hills, but also such a nice, close-knit community!..

    I wish you a very calm and quick adaptation to your new home and neighborhood!

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  14. I love olive trees and olives. My smal one will die here in north... Nice post Dina.
    Wish you a happy week in the desert:-)

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