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Children in Rome Plant Pomegranate Seeds with KKL Italy

Children in Rome Plant Pomegranate Seeds with KKL Italy

On Wednesday July 22nd at the Shirat Ha Yam camp in Ostia, Rome, with KKL Italy's Shariel Gun, Lorella Zarfati and Cesare Veneziani, we met kids who attend this fun-packed summer camp every day to do different kinds of educational activities.

 

In Deuteronomy 8:8 we find a description of the Land of Israel: “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and [date] honey”.

In Jewish symbolism, the pomegranate represents honesty and decency, because according to tradition, it contains 613 seeds that symbolize the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. Not only do they represent the mitzvot, the many sweet seeds represent wealth and life.

In Hebrew, the pomegranate, the rimon, is the emblem of productivity and national unity because its seeds are packed closely together. The pomegranate tree requires very little water and grows in any kind of soil; it’s almost a kind of miracle, a gift from nature in arid lands.

On Wednesday July 22nd at the Shirat Ha Yam camp in Ostia, Rome, with KKL Italy's Shariel Gun, Lorella Zarfati and Cesare Veneziani, we met kids who attend this fun-packed summer camp every day to do different kinds of educational activities.

A central mission of the KKL-JNF Education and Youth Division is to encourage, in future generations, a deep love and respect for nature.

After some short introductive movies about KKL-JNF activities in Israel and around the world, the KKL -JNF emissary to Italy Shariel Gun described the history and the evolution of the organization, and its main operating fields. He explained to the children how important learning about the environment is and answered their many questions. After some further speeches, it was time for action! All that was needed was four small elements: pots, topsoil, seeds and water. All the children happily took part and created wonderful planted pots where pomegranate seedlings will germinate.

A great day ended with the distribution of KKL-JNF gifts and a delicious lunch all together.

KKL-JNF is family: the planting of pomegranate seeds with children, which will grow - just like them - as a symbol of unity of the Jewish People, has been a unique and amazing experience.
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Shirat HaYam campers with a gift from KKL Italy. Photo: KKL Italy

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Seeds, soil, pots and fertilizer, together with planting instructions. Photo: KKL Italy

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Pots, planted with pomegranate seeds. Photo: KKL Italy

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Photo: KKL Italy

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Photo: KKL Italy