A new forest will be established in northern Israel by the Keren Kayemet L'Israel-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) together with Christian Evangelical delegations from Belgium. The delegations from Belgium consist of 180 representatives from La Colombe Protestant Baptist church and the Evangelical Center of Brussels. The new forest was inaugurated in Beit Keshet in northern Israel with two groves of 1,000 trees each. A total of 10,000 trees are expected to be planted in the new forest. Pastor Paulin Pelete Gimbengi of La Colombe Church said that their visit is an expression of their love for Israel, saying “These visits allow us to get to know the state of Israel, its people and its culture. We are your ambassadors – we will express our love for the people of Israel everywhere in the world, even in places where we see the unfortunate phenomena of antisemitism.” At the inauguration event, KKL-JNF World Chairman Daniel Atar addressed the importance of the delegation's visit, saying “If we want to truly eliminate the unacceptable phenomena of antisemitism we have to take action wherever we are in the world. Taking action as this delegation did sends the message that antisemitism is not and never will be accepted in the world.” This is the fourth forest the Belgian Christian Evangelical community has established with KKL-JNF to express friendship and support for Israel.
