On Friday, December 28, Marcie Natan, the national president of Hadassah, planted a tree in Beersheva River Park in memory of the twenty children and six adult staff members who were shot to death on December 14, 2012, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in the village of Newtown, Connecticut.
Before she planted the tree, Marcie said that "the shock we felt when we heard the terrible news from Connecticut spread across the United States and the entire world. Soon after the massacre, the mother of Noah Pozner, a Jewish child who was among the victims, called us and said that she wanted to commemorate her son's death by planting trees in Israel. We immediately contacted KKL-JNF and decided that Beersheva River Park should be the place for this forest grove, which will be dedicated to the memory of everyone who was murdered on that terrible day. Within a few days of announcing this project through email, facebook and twitter, over 2,000 people responded and expressed their desire to be part of this project.
"Hadassah has a long-standing connection with KKL-JNF and with the greening of Israel. We are both committed to bringing life to Israel's desert, and prosperity to the people and land of Israel. I was in Beersheba while it was being bombarded during Operation Pillar of Defense, and I saw how amazing the people of this city are. This small sapling will be the beginning of a large forest in memory of those who were killed so senselessly."
For further information, comments or permission please contact
Ahuva Bar-Lev
KKL-JNF – Information and Publications
Email: ahuvab@kkl.org.il
Phone: 972-2-6583354 Fax:972-2-6583493
www.kkl.org.il/eng