This is a poster published by Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (KKL), also known as the Jewish National Fund (JNF). It displays 33 types of trees and shrubbery that are under JNF protection. Examples of trees include olive, acacia, eucalyptus, sage, laurel, pine, oak, fig, and palm. The poster has a black background, and each of the pictures of the trees and shrubs are set diagonally, with the Israeli pine tree as the main picture at the centre of the poster. Nature conservation is an important issue in Israel and laws protecting the flora and fauna of Israel have made a huge impact on nature, preventing the extinction of many species. Besides the laws and fines for harming wildlife, nature preservation organisations, such as the JNF, launched successful public campaigns informing the public about the protected species, as illustrated by this poster.
Would You Like to Know More?
Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael/Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) – KKL-JNF was founded in 1901 at the Fifth Zionist Congress for the purpose of raising money to purchase land in Israel, which would become the Jewish homeland. The well-known “blue boxes” were used by Jews all over the world to collect this money. The work of KKL-JNF can be divided into three phases. The first 50 years were dedicated to purchasing land. During the next 50 years KKL-JNF developed the land including planting over 220 million trees, building infrastructure such as roads and parks, and helping new immigrants to settle. In the current phase KKL-JNF is putting its emphasis on caring for the environment and solving the perennial problem of water scarcity.
Tu B’Shvat - TuB’Shvat, the 15th day of the month of Shvat, is first mentioned in the Mishnah as one of the Jewish New Years, the date that marked the beginning of the tax year for fruits and trees. At the time of the Temple, this meant taking a portion of one’s crops and giving it to the Levites. This special day evolved into the New Year for trees, fruit, and nature that we know today. The tradition of planting trees slowly developed, not as a halachic ritual, but as a Zionist, nationalistic one. In 1884 the pioneers of the village of YesudHama’alah planted 1,500 fruit trees on TuB’Shvat, and in 1890 Rabbi Ze’ev Yaavitz planted seeds with his students in Zichron Yaakov. By doing this, Yaavitz and the YesudHama’alah farmers gave a Zionist interpretation to this mishnaic date by planting trees to make the Land of Israel flourish. In 1908, the teachers union in Jerusalem adopted this new tradition and made TuB’Shvat the “Festival of Planting” that was later adopted by the JNF-KKL and has since been celebrated by planting trees and promoting environmental concerns. Another traditional way of celebrating TuB’Shvat is conducting a TuB’Shvat Seder, a ritual first conducted in Tzfat (Safed) in the seventeenth century. This includes eating fruit of the Land of Israel and reading special passages that relate to fruit and the Land of Israel.
