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Ramat Hanadiv Memorial Gardens
Tamar Wisemon
(April 24, 2000) A lion and a unicorn hold aloft a shield; below is the motto, "Concordia, Integritas, Industria." The Rothschild coat of arms, emblazoned over the iron gateway, provides a stately entrance to landscaped lawns and fountains juxtaposed with wild poppies and palm trees. A terraced garden looks out to the Mediterranean, and a large stone map depicts the Jewish settlements in Eretz Yisrael funded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The rose garden features a stone sundial held by a gargoyle and a species of rose named "Edmond de Rothschild." But it was his philanthropic pseudonym, Hanadiv Hayadua (the Well-known Benefactor) that gives the park its name.
Operated by the Society for the Preservation of Nature in Israel for the Rothschild Memorial Fund, Ramat Hanadiv covers over 1,000 acres of natural parklands, whose hiking trails pass by herds of gazelles, water tunnels and archaeological excavations. The wheelchair-accessible memorial garden provides for less strenuous activity and thoughtfully features a "fragrance garden" designed for the blind, with a railing to provide an easy route around the raised beds and Braille identification of the herbs and flowers. Elsewhere, potted saplings are being nurtured to replace magnolias toppled in Jerusalem after a heavy snowfall in the early 90s.
In the center of the garden stands the black basalt mausoleum of Baron Edmond de Rothschild and his wife Adelaide. Entry to their tombs is through a courtyard, edged by a channel of water alive with fish, and almost empty of visitors. Except, on this occasion, for two boys clutching a water-filled bag - containing a fish they claim they have permission to remove.
Route 652, between Zikhron Ya'akov and Binyaminah Tel.: (06) 639-7726, 639-78218:00 a.m.-3:45 p.m. (Fri. till 1:45 p.m.) Admission: Free
Good Taste
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