Ceremony participants at the General O'Higgins Memorial. Photo: Yoav Devir
This traditional ceremony takes place every year – but this year, for the first time, it was attended by an official delegation from Chile whose members included Marcello Elissalde, a representative of the O’Higgins Institute in Santiago, which promotes the general’s memory and heritage.
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Marcello Elissalde reminded his listeners that O’Higgins’ memory is perpetuated at 170 sites throughout the world, and emphasized the special importance of KKL-JNF’s cooperation with regard to memorializing this Chilean leader in Israel. “Here in the Holy Land a most beautiful and unique memorial has been established,” he said.
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Touvia Goldstein, President of both the Israel-Chile Cultural Institute and the O'Higgins Institute in Israel, spoke of the good relations that prevail between the two countries: “Chile Forest, which lies within the Jerusalem Forest, symbolizes the cooperation between the two countries and our two nations,” he said.
Fulvio Queinolo, the Chilean military attaché in Israel, gave examples of General O’Higgins’ activities on behalf of liberty and social issues, and added that the State of Israel also represents these values. “Thanks to the cooperation with KKL-JNF we can invite you to follow in the footsteps of this unique leader who honored both society and his fellow human beings,” he concluded.
Chile Forest is not used only for events and ceremonies – it is also a popular venue for walks and other recreational activities. The forest was developed thanks to contributions from Friends of KKL-JNF in Chile, and it attracts large numbers of visitors. Its facilities include a recreation area dedicated to the memory of Noy and Rosa Furman of Santiago, which offers picnic spots and playground equipment for children; a decorative stone plaza named after National Senator Angel Faivovich; and attractive and convenient stone paths that link the various sites to one another. The forest trail, which is accessible to visitors exploring in cars, on bicycles or on foot, bears the name of social pioneer Leon Kaplun, who initiated the establishment of the O’Higgins Plaza. All these amenities are overlooked by the impressive stone monument dedicated to the memory of General O’Higgins, whose image now gazes down from the hilltop, as befits a military leader inspecting the terrain below. The general was famous for his special relationship with Israel and Jews, and we may assume that he would be impressed with the view he has been accorded. The participants in the ceremony laid a memorial wreath at the foot of the monument and stood for a moment in silence in his memory.
KKL-JNF was represented at the ceremony by Board Member Hernan Felman, who told those assembled about his visit to Chile several months ago, when he had the opportunity to observe how the country has developed and progressed. “KKL-JNF is glad of the opportunity it has been given to share some of its knowledge and experience by cooperating with Chile in matters relating to agriculture and afforestation,” he said. He went on to describe to his listeners the far-reaching changes that KKL-JNF has brought about in Israel in the areas of forestry,community development, agriculture, waterand ecology.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the guests went on to visit KKL-JNF’s offices in Jerusalem, where they listened to explanations of the organization’s activities and visited the hall where the KKL-JNF Books of Honor are kept. The covers of these large volumes were designed by a variety of artists, and the pages within them record the names of donors, well-known figures and other people from all walks of Jewish life. The donations record in the Books of Honor allows donors to participate in Israel’s progress and development and accords them the special honor of immortalizing their acts of generosity.
