As Israel Marks 'New Year for Trees', Loved Ones of Those Murdered Plant Trees to Remember

RE'IM PARK, southern Israel – The Israeli Forestry Service, KKL-JNF, is helping to create a living memorial for the hundreds killed at a music festival on October 7th. The tree planting comes as the country marks what's known as "The New Year of the Trees" or Tu B'Shvat, in Hebrew.

This year's holiday comes under the shadow of war and death. Those responsible for Israel's forests want to focus on new life.

The head of planning, Noah Tal, told CBN News, "Everyone is welcome here, and we want this area also to have infrastructure for leisure and recreation and symbol of life, and also tell the story of what had happened here – because what had happened here can never happen again."

Tal added, "This is something that is beyond human understanding, and this is what we want the place to symbolize."

In the beautiful park on the perimeter of the Gaza Strip, where flowers are blooming, more than 300 trees were planted by relatives of the 364 young people who were murdered at the Nova Music Festival.

Moran Cohen, whose brother Benjamin was murdered, told us, "We came here today to plant trees for them to remember them, to give them the respect…We are deeply sad and we feel that our hearts are taken away from us."

Cohen said of her brother, "He was a very good person. He was full of giving and helping other people and this is, that was, his way."

Several of Benjamin Cohen's friends were killed with him.

"My brother and his friends were 27, and they were five friends together. The trees are planted next to each other. Also, they are buried in the same cemetery where we live," Moran stated.

One of Those friends included Natali Amar's brother and Vera Moshe's son, Eden David Moshe.

Amar recalled of her brother, "He was very, very kind. He loved people. He was a very good uncle to our kids. He loved life. Ben, Tamar, Dor, Iftah (the young people) were very, very best friends with Eden. They were raised together in the same school. High school. They finished school together. They were friends during all life."

Eden Moshe and his friends had looked forward to the music festival for a long time. 

Amar believes remembering them has become a kind of mission. "This is what we have left to do, to remember to tell who wants to hear about who he was, how perfect and special he was in life."

Amar says it's difficult to be at the site of the murder, but that it's important for people to remember and to understand the truth.

"And it's not fair for us, the families, to see the hate around the world against Israel. The message we – every person in Israel – wants to scream to the world, we are the good people. They are the evil people."

Tal from KKL-JNF explained, "By the trees, we symbolize that the State of Israel is here to stay, and that's how we see it. And that's why we decide to celebrate life due to (the) horrific actions that were done here by Hamas and to tell them, you can never break our spirit. We will keep on planting. We will keep on, the life here in Israel."

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