Just before the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jerusalem Municipality decided to name a forest after Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. When they presented the idea to the modest prime minister, he scoffed and ironically suggested naming the forest for King David instead.
Soon afterward, on February 24, 1958, Ben-Gurion was invited to a tree-planting ceremony in that same woodlands, today known as the Jerusalem Forest. Upon arrival, he was presented with a sapling from a Cedar of Lebanon and a hoe for planting it in the ground. Today that cedar is fully grown, standing proudly as a symbol of the strength of the Jewish Nation.
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael — known throughout the English-speaking world as the Jewish National Fund and called KKL-JNF in Israel — has developed thousands of marvelous trails and recreation areas throughout the country, all of which are absolutely free. Among them is the Jerusalem Forest, high above the Holy City and part of a complex that includes the Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery and the Yad VaShem World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
The forest’s Cedar Trail — known in Hebrew as the Shvil HaErez — is a slightly challenging two- to three-hour, four-kilometer (2.5-mile), well-marked trek which can be enjoyed by foot — or by reading about it from the comfort of an easy chair.
Along with an observation point and memorial site, the Cedar Trail boasts ditches left from World War I, monuments and memorial walls, caves, stunning wildflowers, picnic tables, play areas, recognition plaques and part of a columbarium. And although more and more buildings fill the not-too-distant hills, hikers can still enjoy some lovely views.
Flowers bloom everywhere on the slopes and along the path, changing with the seasons. On a February hike with neighbors who had never yet been on this trail located only minutes from their home, the fields were filled with cyclamen peeking out from crevices in the rocks and along the path, coloring the ground in white and various shades of lilac. Bright yellow thorny broom posed a stunning contrast to other blossoms along the path.
Brilliant bright red anemones are everywhere and bloom despite the harsh winter weather. At one time Europeans were suspicious of the anemone and thought the lovely flower carried diseases. They believed that even the air around the anemone was poisonous and people customarily held their breath while running through a field of anemones.
On a return to the forest in March we found the cyclamen still blooming away, but some of the anemones had been replaced by no less brilliant red tulips. Strangely named “white mustard,” blossoms blazed in yellow, and in April and May, the less flashy red buds called “blood of the Maccabees” will fill the fields as well.
A long rock wall dotted with holes is part of the trail. It hints at the reason that an area above Ben-Gurion’s Cedar tree is known not only by its official Hebrew name, Mitzpe Kerem (Kerem Overlook) but also by the Arabic name of Hirbet Hamama (Pigeon/Dove Ruins). Breeding pigeons was a popular pastime during the Greek and Roman eras; the birds were kept in niches carved into rock called columbaria, or dovecotes.
During the Second Temple period and in accordance with the biblical decree, Jews bred pigeons as well. Not only did Jewish villagers eat the birds and their eggs and use their excrement as fertilizer, but they sold them to pilgrims passing through on their way to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Book of Leviticus (5:7) sets out the conditions for sacrificing pigeons: “And if his means suffice not for a lamb, then he shall bring. . . two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons.”
From this vantage point, there is a view of Yad Vashem, Pilot’s Hill, Mount Gilo, Hadassah Ein Kerem, and Mount Harat. Later along the trail the glistening Beit Zayit Reservoir also comes into view.
In 1917, after the British conquered Turkish and German armies in the Sinai desert, they began advancing toward Jerusalem. The Turks, who controlled the Land of Israel at the time, prepared a complex line of defensive communication trenches on the ridges of the Jerusalem hills. Any action that took place on this ridge would have been on the night of December 7th, as the British closed in.
The very next day, the mayor of Jerusalem and several of the residents surrendered to a couple of British sergeants at today’s Allenby Square in one of the city’s northern neighborhoods.
During the War of Independence, Arab forces utilized the Turkish-built ditches to hold onto this area. They were vanquished by the fledgling Israeli army’s Jonathan Platoon, many of whose soldiers were under the age of recruitment.
Born in Jerusalem, platoon commander Oded Hai had quit Jerusalem’s most prestigious high school at the age of 17 to volunteer for Britain’s Jewish Brigade. Soldiers from the Jerusalem Brigade, which was formed in pre-state Israel in 1944, fought against the Germans until the end of World War II. Hai was stationed in Europe immediately after the war, to assist and encourage Belgian and Dutch refugees.
The Brigade was disbanded in 1946, and 18-year-old Hai volunteered to remain in Europe to train young men and women who wanted to join the Haganah, the paramilitary organization run by the Zionists in British Mandate Palestine. It was very difficult for refugees to enter British-controlled Palestine, and on one occasion Hai traded identities with a Holocaust survivor, enabling him to enter the country.
Upon his return to Palestine, Hai registered to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem but continued his ties with the Haganah. As soon as the War of Independence broke out in 1948, he left his studies and took part in several battles; he was wounded in the battle for the Notre Dame hospice on the Jerusalem-Jordanian border, a fight that stopped the Arab Legion’s invasion of the Holy City.
Later, as commander of the Jonathan Platoon, he was ordered to wrest Hirbet Hamama from the enemy. The platoon succeeded in taking the area, but six soldiers were killed in battle and dozens were wounded. Among those who fell was the 20-year-old Hai. In the future, Hirbet Hamama may be renamed Oded Hai Hill (Givat Oded Hai) in honor of this amazing young man.
For specific directions for parking and walking to the Cedar Trail you are welcome to contact us via email, or contact KKL-JNF.
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Aviva Bar-Am is the author of seven English-language guides to Israel.
Shmuel Bar-Am is a licensed tour guide who provides private, customized tours in Israel for individuals, families and small groups.
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