Foto Friday – Oded Dayan – Bird Migration Across the Hula

September 11, 2009 - 7:46 PM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Environment, Foto Friday, Travel 

The days are getting shorter and bird migration across the Rift Valley — otherwise known as our little corner of the Middle East — is at its height.
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Israel is something of a paradise for birdwatchers, with 500 million birds migrating south from Europe to warmer climates in Asia and Africa each fall. The Israel Ornithology Center, which operates three bird watching centers, has recorded more than 540 different species of birds in Israel at various seasons in the year.
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Photographer Oded Dayan, who works with the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – JNF, produced this series of images documenting Lake Agmon, the heart of the re-flooded Hula Valley in Northern Israel.
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Agmon is one of the best-known birding centers with a developed tourist infrastructure. According to the Ministry of Tourism, “approximately 35,000 cranes fill the fields and wetlands during the fall migration, with about 25,000 staying for the winter.”
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“Visitors can take advantage of the camouflaged bird observation points and choose to tour the area on foot, by bicycle, golf cart, safari wagon or train. This is also a center for bird research and a station for bird ringing.”
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More information about Lake Agmon can be found on the KKL-JNF website, or on the Ministry of Tourism website. And of course, ISRAEL21c has reported extensively on the rehabilitation of the now-flourishing Hula Valley.

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Nostalgia Sunday – Blue Box Redux

February 8, 2009 - 4:23 PM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Environment, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Pop Culture 

Here’s a fun fact: Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with more trees than it had at the beginning of the 20th century. For years, tree-planting in Israel was synonymous with the Jewish National Fund, which itself was synonymous with the small blue coin collection tin. Some of these are now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, as part of an exhibit entitled The Map of Israel as Illustration, Artwork, and Icon.

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The exhibit, curated by Orna Granot, looks at the map not in geopolitical terms but as a graphic element used “to increase the viewer’s familiarity with the land [of Israel] and to strengthen love of the land in experiential, educational, and aesthetic ways”.

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Etzleinu be-Khitah Alef (In Our First Grade) by Shlomo Kadesh, Illustrations: Shlomo Cohen; Ever Publishers, Jerusalem, 1952. Courtesy of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Of course, the Blue Box is a wonderful icon in itself. So much so that Keren Kayemet-JNF, has re-launched the beloved “pushke” after a 30-year absence. This time though, says KKL-JNF world chairman Efi Stenzler, rather than land acquisition, the coins collected will go to furthering Israeli environmental conservation projects. As part of the relaunch, Stenzler has been distributing Blue Boxes to dignitaries of note, including Pope Benedict XVI, who plans to visit Israel in May.

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Given the season – political, not meteorological – Israeli party candidates have been also been getting on the KKL-JNF bandwagon. Benjamin Netanyahu today planted one of 7 million saplings KKL-JNF has planned for the next several years. And here’s Ehud Barak with his 2009 model pushke.

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The KKL-JNF website has a lovely timeline of Blue Boxes throughout history – it’s in Hebrew only but definitely worth a look.

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It’s also a good opportunity to plant a tree in honor of Tu B’Shvat and to take a moment to consider Israel’s green future and how to best “strengthen love of the land”.

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