 |  |
Click for Contents
|
P.O. Box 1805,Jerusalem 91017 Tel. 972-2-531-5440, Fax: 972-2-537-9489 Advertising Fax: 972-2-531-5425, Email Editorial: [email protected] Subscriptions: [email protected] Web site: http://www.jrep.com |
Eretz Yisrael Botanical Garden
Daniel Orenstein
(August 28, 2000) Next time you're at Hebrew University�s Mount Scopus campus, whether it�s to attend classes or gaze at the wonderful view of Jerusalem�s Old City, visit the Eretz Yisrael Botanical Garden. Inconspicuously tucked in between the university and the Arab village to the east, this little spot of greenery contains enough native flora to make it feel like you�ve transversed all of Israel without walking more than a kilometer.
Despite its diminutive size and close proximity to the campus, the garden feels strangely isolated. It�s divided into 30 sections, each representing one of Israel�s habitat zones. A 20-minute circular walk will take you through the oak forests of the Carmel, the wetlands of the Hulah and the shrub of the Negev. Scattered between the habitats are native herbs and spices, old tools and archaeological artifacts. The plants have attracted native birds and butterflies. There are also the tombs of early Zionist leaders Menachem Ussishkin and Ben Zion Leib Pinsker.
If you�re lucky, you may run into chief curator Meir Chaout, who�ll entertain you in Hebrew, French or rudimentary English for longer than you may want with countless stories of folklore, history, ecology and physiology of each of the hundreds of species of plants in the garden. Despite the fact that he is wheel-chair bound, he manages to frequent every corner of garden.
Judging from the skeleton staff, the clear lack of maintenance, and a history of physically cutting off corners of the garden for student parking, there�s an inescapable feeling that the HU powers-that-be see this little oasis as no more than a temporary reserve for future building. They should know better: the calm, quiet garden is well worth a short visit.
Mount Scopus campus, Hebrew U.; Open Sun.-Thurs.: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Admission free)
Good Taste
|
 |
|
© The Jerusalem Report 1999-2003 |  |