Vietnamese embassy joins Israel’s tree planting festival in Ben Shemen Forest. VNA/VNS Photo

TEL AVIV — The Việt Namese Embassy in Israel recently participated in the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat, the traditional tree-planting festival, by planting friendship trees at the Ben Shemen Forest in central Israel.

Similar to Việt Nam, Israel’s agricultural traditions follow the lunar calendar. This year, the tree-planting festival took place from February 10 to 20.

The Việt Namese Embassy on February 20 collaborated with the Ambassadors’ Club in Israel, the Israel-Việt Nam Friendship Association, the Israel-Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce, and the KKL-JNF Forest Fund to plant almond, plum, apricot, peach, and plum blossom trees, which bloom in late winter and early spring.

The event not only celebrated Israel’s tree-planting tradition but also established an Israel-Việt Nam friendship garden. This garden will serve as a place for the Vietnamese community in Israel to visit and care for during the Lunar New Year or Tết celebrations each year.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Lý Đức Trung highlighted Israel’s remarkable transformation from a nearly treeless land to one of the few countries with increasing green coverage by the end of the 20th century. This achievement is largely attributed to the efforts of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which has planted over 250 million trees across Israel since its establishment in 1901.

Danny Saguy, a forest worker at Ben Shemen, shared that Israelis have a tradition of planting trees during holidays and significant life events such as weddings, birthdays, graduations, and the arrival of new family members. Tree planting has become an integral part of Israeli culture, with all forests in the country being self-planted. — VNS