Dear CAARI Friends and Family,

Ah, the sun is shining, and we are off to work in a Forest Day - destination Horshim Forest, north of Tel Aviv.   

CAARI has worked in this forest for the past 6 years.  It is a special forest to Nahum, as it is in memory of his commander, Hezi Sapir z”l a platoon commander killed by a bicycle bomber along with two other officers.  

Although the temperatures were not exactly ideal, and rain was predicted (again) we packed the bus with our ‘picnic lunch’ and off we went determined to work! 

By the time we reached the forest, the sun was out, partly blue skies and we were ready for the challenge.  We were greeted by Miri and Yashkeeh, Hezi’s sister and Father  Yashkeh, 93,  is a survivor from the Lutzk Ghetto in the Ukraine and was a platoon commander in the Palmach.

Members of the community also welcomed us and discussed how the community was founded and home to 300+ families. 

With Yashkeeh’s marching orders, we were divided into three groups. With pick axes, rakes, and hoes, we began our assignments as instructed.  CAARI cleaned some where we planted last year, dug holes for planting samplings and by noon we were done with our projects.  Mission completed and we had a sense of accomplishment.    

Neil took us to the overlook and explained the defensive barrier built in response to the Al Aksa uprising in 2000, the green line and the Palestinian City of Kalkilyia and the Community of Alfei Menashe. CAARI was ready for lunch! 

In the afternoon, we travelled to the Bar-Ilan University to hear a panel of 3 academicians speak at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. Each gave us 3 different perspectives on  the Israeli - Egyptian Peace Agreement, why it works, why it doesn’t.  We were  impressed with the panel and appreciated their opinions of the Middle East region and the complexity of the situation.  This is something we don’t hear about in North American news. 

It was truly a GREAT DAY!

Best to all of you - enjoy the pictures from our Forest Day!  

CAARI 2020