Nomi Tsur, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem plants tree with Siham Halabi, Druze leader.
On February 14, after a week of rain, the clouds parted and the sun shone on the TRUST WIN (Women’s Interfaith Network) gathering of Christians, Druze, Jews, and Muslims for World Interfaith Harmony Week to plant trees on the Goldman Promenade in Jerusalem, to honor the memories of Richard and Rhoda Goldman, the Benefactors, and Lawrence Halprin, the Landscape Architect. Michelle Katz displayed an oil painting she had created for the occasion — bright and colorful with women and trees. Gathered together were men and women from the
Jerusalem Peacemakers and
MADA (“horizon” in Arabic) and other organizations, as well as a group of U.S. college students visiting at the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem. Everyone basked in the warm sunshine and incredible views looking out beyond the Judean Hills to the Dead Sea and Jordan.
Blessings were given by Rabbi David Rosen - International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee, Fr. Gusan Aljanian from the Armenian Orthodox community in the Old City, Haj Ibrahim Abuhalwa - Municipal Spokesman for the Muslim Community, and Siham Halabi - Director of Women's Programs for the Druze community.
Blessings were given by Rabbi David Rosen – International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee, Fr. Gusan Aljanian from the Armenian Orthodox community in the Old City, Haj Ibrahim Abuhalwa – Municipal Spokesman for the Muslim Community, and Siham Halabi – Director of Women’s Programs for the Druze community. Elana Rozenman welcomed everyone and stressed that although our city is filled with conflicts and violence, the TRUST WIN women walk regularly in the serene beauty of this walkway to strengthen the energies of harmony and sisterhood among women of different faiths. She spoke of our gratitude to the Goldmans and Halprin for their great gift that we enjoy daily. Nomi Tsur, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, paid tribute to the Goldmans and Halprin. She acknowledged the many environmental contributions of the Goldmans and the architectural contributions of Larry Halprin in our city. She learned from Larry Halprin the importance of including the needs of the community into environmental planning. She stressed that women are the key to ending war — mentioning the legend of Lysistrata when the Athenian and Spartan women refused to welcome their husbands home until they made peace. She mentioned her long and successful struggle to keep the Promenade area free of development.
Elana Rozenman displaying painting by Michelle Katz — bright and colorful with women and trees
The City Beautification Department created for us a small grove of four large olive trees which had been removed from the path of the Jerusalem Light Railway and were now being replanted as an eternal symbol of the contributions of Halprin and the Goldmans. These four olive trees also symbolize the sisterhood and holy work of the women of the four different faiths to build peace in our land. Noemie Nalbandian taught about the three times that the olive tree is mentioned in the Christian Bible in relation to Jesus. Sarah Yehudit Schneider taught the metaphor of the olive which requires so much work to turn the bitter into the sweet. A Druze woman stated that we all share the quality of trees — being solid and stable. A Jewish woman expressed satisfaction that our years of work together had produced such a tangible symbol of beauty and endurance. Everyone laughed and enjoyed the work as they took turns shoveling dirt around the base of the trees – each one approximately thirty years old and soon to produce olives for all to enjoy. We closed with the words of Gandhi
“There is no path to peace, peace is the path” and we now have these beautiful trees to enhance our regular experience of peace on this pathway.
