April 25, 2003/Nisan 23 5763, Vol. 55, No. 35
Beth El heeds astronaut's call"I call upon every Jew in the world to plant a tree in the Land of Israel during the coming year."After Columbia Space Shuttle Astronaut Ilan Ramon made this request to Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a televised conversation from space during the Columbia mission, a local synagogue heeded the call. Beth El Congregation of Phoenix has donated $5,000 for a grove of 1,000 trees, which is part of a Jewish National Fund project to commemorate the deaths of Ramon and the six other astronauts. The main part of the project will be at the Ilanot Forest, in the geographical heart of Israel, and will include a new arboretum and visitor center. (Ilanot is plural for Ilan, which means tree.) Beth El is the first congregation in the Phoenix area to complete a grove of 1,000 trees. "Rabbi Moshe Tutnauer was the first rabbi to answer our request for congregations to consider donating trees to the project," said Ted Kort, JNF regional director. "We thank the members of Beth El for their generosity in completing this commit-ment." JNF also received a $225 check from the Hillel Jewish Student Center at Arizona State University. Dona- tions were made by college students, said Shotsy Abramson, Hillel assistant director. The community of Sun Lakes, under the leadership of Joy Dolin, is also collecting funds for the Ilanot Forest project. Dolin has made presentations at the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation, its Sisterhood & Men's Club, Temple Havurat Emet, Jewish War Veterans, Post #619, and the Shalom Chapter of Hadassah. "I felt we needed to memorialize Ilan Ramon," Dolin said. Call JNF, 602-277-4800. |
