Reflections on Israeli Life
by Esther Korson
Well, it seems that I’m not quite finished with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to Israel yet! I’m so glad, because it means that I get to tell you about one of my favourite places in Israel, the Hula Valley Nature Reserve. I’m going to make you wait until the end of this blog to tell you how Harper relates to it, however! First a bit of Hula history.
Perhaps some of you have heard the stories of the hardships that the early Jewish pioneers of the late 1890’s and early 1900’s experienced when they arrived in the Biblical land of Israel. One of the areas that they bravely tackled included the Hula Valley, in that time a mosquito-infested swamp responsible for the spread of malaria. Lake Hula was completely drained in 1950, but as time passed it was clear that the benefits were limited and a special ecosystem had been lost. So in the 1990’s a plan was hatched to rehabilitate the lake. It needed careful planning with real expertise needed in the fields of soil sciences, agriculture, hydrodynamics, ecology—and tourism! After careful study the project commenced and a portion of the former swamp and lake region was re-flooded! It all cost $23 million, financed by the Israeli government (67%) and the Jewish National Fund (33%).
It resulted in a small shallow lake, with the re-introduction of plant species that had disappeared when the area had been drained. Thirty aquatic plant species reestablished themselves spontaneously! It is now surrounded by green pastures with grazing safari animals like the water buffalo, indigenous to the swampy terrain.
Here’s the part that I love the most—it has now become a stopping point twice a year for 500 million migrating birds! So it is a bird watcher’s paradise! As a matter of fact, in 2010, BBC Wildlife Magazine rated the Hula ninth in a list of the best sites for viewing wildlife in the world! (If you Google ‘Hula Valley’ and then click on ‘Agamon Hula—A paradise for Birds & People’, they have lovely seasonal pictures of the amazing variety of birds and animals that now are a part of this amazing place!)
As Israel began to restore the marshes, many cranes began to stop and then many decided to stay for the winter—around 30,000 of them, to be exact! As you can imagine, they wrecked havoc in the nearby farmers’ fields, so Israel devised a plan. To protect the farmers’ crops, around 200 acres have been set aside and are scattered daily with a buffet of 2 tons of corn and other seed for the cranes. The food is delivered daily in covered wagons pulled by a tractor. Since the cranes grew accustomed to the tractors, wagonloads of tourists can also enter the area for really close contact with the cranes, since the birds are not afraid! The waters are stocked regularly with fish for fish-eating fowl as well.
One time when I visited the Hula Nature Reserve, the caretakers had a love story to tell! It was wintertime, and the pelicans that stop over annually had all left on their migratory journey. However, there was one male pelican whose wing was broken and therefore he needed to stay until it healed. And this is so touching—his mate stayed with him! And there the two of them were, placidly paddling on the quiet lake.
Jeremiah 8:7 says, “The stork in the heaven also knows appointed times, and turtledoves and the swallow and the crane observe their time of coming…”
Once I saw the white storks flying over Jerusalem. They darkened the sky and it was a magnificent spectacle. The birds’ flight routes are carefully monitored and correlated with the Aviation Authority! (Remember, this is a very tiny country).
So what does all of this have to do with Harper? On the last day of his historic visit, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined Keren Kayemeth Leisrael and the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) to lay the cornerstone for a future bird sanctuary and visitors centre in Agamon Hula named in his honour.
The “Stephen J. Harper-Prime Minister of Canada Agamon Hula KKL-JNF Bird Sanctuary and Educational Centre” will stretch over a 4000 square metre area and is set to open in two years. The organizations feel that Harper’s name is a fitting choice for the future site. “Harper is a strong supporter of KKL-JNF. He is considered a true friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish people and has always stood by our side, even when he went against the agreement that the world powers signed with Iran,” KKL-JNF chairman Effi Stenezer said.
“It is my honour to be at this amazing site,” Harper commented at the groundbreaking ceremony. “I intend to come back here and visit the new centre that will be named for me. This centre symbolizes for me the warm and unbreakable relationship shared between Canada and Israel…”
If this magnificent site was named after some other world leaders, not to mention any names, probably even the birds would stay away!) Canada even sells an Israeli-Canada friendship postage stamp!
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