Dear organizers and madrichim,
We have prepared a number of content folders for you, each relating to a region or site you’ll be visiting in Israel.
Please send the relevant folder to your groups each evening in preparation for the next day’s activities.
The goal is to deepen the participants’ experience and to complement your tours with short videos and texts that will remain with them even after their Israel journey has come to an end.
The folders focus on sites that KKL-JNF supports or single-handedly operates. If you feel there is any need for additional content, we’d be happy to hear from you.
Guidelines
- You can share these folders directly via any digital platform you choose – email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, Instagram. You can also email a folder’s link or QR code.
- Copy the topic’s introductory paragraph and attach the relevant link.
- Simply copy and paste the blurb and the accompanying QR code.
- If sending via WhatsApp, make sure to also copy the stars beside the title, as well as the link, in order for the text to appear highlighted in the message.
- Send only the relevant folder each evening.
- Make reference to the folders throughout the trip to encourage participants to make good use of this resource.
For technical support or special requests, please contact Yakir or Hila:
Yakir – yakirsegev@outlook.co.il
Hila – hila.zisberg@gmail.com
Content folders
*Welcome to Israel – About KKL-JNF Israel*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division warmly welcome you to Israel!
Together, we are very excited to touch the landscapes of the Land of Israel, to experience its rich history, and to become familiarized with some of the KKL-JNF’s projects, past and present, established all over the country in partnership with the international Jewish community to advance and further develop Israel.
In order to view the projects, click here: https://kkl.kulam.org/en/2019/04/16/23125/
Safe travels – we await your arrival!
*Jerusalem*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division welcome you to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish nation.
Ancient meets modern in the holy city of Jerusalem, simultaneously an antique biblical site and a dynamic metropolis of art, culture, and industry. KKL-JNF has always invested in all facets of Jerusalem, establishing national institutions as well as developing forests, parks, community projects, historical sites, cultural events, and educational activities that ensure a thriving, green city for all.
*Click to see unique videos about Jerusalem:* https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Jerusalem&u=119&si=36
*Tel Aviv*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division are happy to host you in Tel Aviv.
A bustling urban center of business, technology, art, culture, and, of course, beaches and parties, Tel Aviv also contains a surprising oasis of respite: the Yarkon Park. The park, and the Yarkon River that runs through it, were intensively rehabilitated in 2009 thanks to donations from Friends of KKL-JNF Australia.
*Click here to learn things you didn’t know about Tel Aviv:* https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Tel_Aviv&u=119&si=36
*Hula Lake Park*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division are proud to introduce the ecological project that has created a beautiful home for hundreds of millions of animals.
In 1951, KKL-JNF led the first national engineering project of the young State of Israel, drying up the swampy Hula Valley and converting it into 15,000 acres of usable farmland. Years later, the region re-flooded, and JNF-KKL carried out a second swamp-drying project, creating the internationally-acclaimed Hula Lake that attracts more than 500 million migratory birds twice a year.
*Click here for videos about the Hula Lake Park:* https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Hula_Lake_Park&u=119&si=36
*Ben Shemen Forest*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division hope that you enjoy the beautiful Ben Shemen Forest.
The Ben Shemen Forest is named for the olive oil (“shemen”) production hub it was intended to become when KKL-JNF initially purchased the land. Due to constant challenges, including a fire in the oil factory, a plague of locusts, and World War I, most of the settlers abandoned the region until after the establishment of the State, when KKL-JNF helped build new settlements in the area. The name « Ben Shemen » is a reminder of the forest’s rich history.
*Learn about the past and present of the Ben Shemen Forest:* https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Ben_Shemen_Forest&u=119&si=36
*The Be’er Sheva Stream Park*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division welcome you to the desert oasis called the Be’er Sheva Stream Park.
Why is this region called Be’er Sheva? Because that is what our forefather Avraham decided after he returned to the well he had dug there many years earlier:
And Avraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Avimelech, and they made a covenant. And Avraham placed seven ewes by themselves. And Avimelech said to Avraham, « What are these seven ewes that you have placed by themselves? » And he said, « For these seven ewes you shall take from my hand, in order to bear witness for me that I dug this well. » Therefore, he named that place Beer Sheba, for there they both swore [nishbe’u]. Bereishit (Genesis) chapter 21, verses 27-31
Nowadays, we need more than wells – we need entire rivers! International Friends of KKL-JNF have donated generously towards this project and have enabled KKL-JNF to be a partner in the Be’er Sheva River rehabilitation initiative. From a disease-ridden, garbage-filled wasteland, we have established an ecological park that extends over 1,300 acres. A variety of tree species cover 250 acres of the park and desert vegetation is prominent along the entire length of the river bank. The diverse wildlife includes various species of reptiles, birds, and fowl.
*Learn more about the Be’er Sheva Stream Park*: https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=The_Beer_Sheva_Stream_Park&u=119&si=36
*The Gaza Envelope – Otef Aza*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division invite you to learn about the unimaginable lifestyle that the residents of the Gaza envelope live.
The Gaza envelope is the strip of communities bordering Gaza. Israel completely evacuated the Gaza Strip in 2005.
Rocket fire aimed at Israeli civilians had already begun by the year 2000. Since Israel left the Gaza Strip and Hamas was voted into leadership via democratic elections, the firing radius has expanded and the families that live in the 56 communities in the Gaza envelope have been forced to adjust themselves to daily lives that involve rocket attacks, arson, attempts to infiltrate terrorists who are planning to carry out attacks, and extended periods of time spent in bomb shelters.
KKL-JNF assists in putting out the fires and in rehabilitating the affected plant and animal populations. They also run various social and community programs for the residents of the impacted areas.
*Click here to learn more about the topic:* https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Gaza_Envelope_-_Otef_Aza&u=119&si=36
*The Lavi Forest*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division invite you to take a deep breath and enjoy the smells of blossoms and the natural woodlands of the Lavi Forest.
The KKL-JNF has built an educational field center within the Lavi Forest. The center was established in 1978 and contains within its property remains of an ancient settlement, recreation facilities, and a magical theatre. The center covers an area of about 30 acres and reaches a height of about 300 meters above sea level between the central cities of Tiberias and Afula.
*Click here to learn more about the field center in the Lavi Forest:* https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Lavi_Forest&u=114&si=36
*Nes Harim*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division welcome you upon your arrival to the Nes Harim Field Center.
The center is located in the heart of the KKL-JNF’s green pine forest that extends some 35 acres.
The origin of its name is found in the book of Yeshayau (Isaiah), chapter 18, verse 3: “…when a standard of the mountains is raised you shall see, and when a shofar is sounded you shall hear”
*Click here to learn more about the field center in Nes Harim: https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Nes_Harim&u=114&si=36
*Shunni Park*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division wish you a wonderful day in Nahalat Shevet Menashe.
At one point in its history, the area came under the rule of the Romans who built a theatre that continues to serve as an entertainment center to this day.
From 1914-1947, the site served as a base for pioneering settlers affiliated with the Choma U’Migdal movement as well as for the Irgun Hatzva’I Haleumi (Etzel).
KKL-JNF fortified the historical buildings in the region and rehabilitated the Shuni site, which is today a charming area. Memorial plaques were erected in memory of those who fell in the Acre Prison Break and a park was established in memory of Ze’ev Jabotinsky – a spacious, 40-acre stretch of grass and greenery for the public to enjoy.
Click here to learn about the region: https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Shunni_Park&u=119&si=36
* Tzippori Forest*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division welcome you to the Tzippori Forest, where the Sanhedrin used to convene and where, at the very site that you are visiting, they codified the Mishna. The Tzippori forests cover some 7,500 acres of forests planted by the KKL-JNF in the Tzippori River’s drainage basin.
*Click here to learn about the region:* https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Tsippori_Forest&u=119&si=36
*Yatir Forest*
The Overseas Department and the Education and Community Division welcome you to the Yatir forest, Israel’s largest human-made forest.
The Yatir Forest and Field Center offers its visitors an exceptional experience. Three distinct parts of the country meet in the Yatir forest: the Judean Hills, the Judean Desert, and the Negev. In addition, the fortress around which the center was created (built in the mid 1960’s) attracts many tourists due to its location and the breathtaking view from its observation deck.
*Click here to learn about the region: https://kkl.kulam.org/en/single-public-folder?folder=Yatir_Forest&u=119&si=36
