On Israel’s 50th birthday, her people received an extraordinarily precious gift. That year, the Jewish National Fund, the Society for the Preservation of Historic Sites in Israel, and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority began the painstaking restoration of 50 outstanding historic sites.
The most important of these was Herzl House, a villa from the early 20th century strangely located in the middle of the first JNF forest. The forest dates back to 1905, when a company called Geula, or “Redemption”, bought 500 acres of land from Arabs from the village of Hulda. The company intended to divide its purchase into sections and sell them to the Jewish newcomers. Unfortunately for Geula, mass grazing had depleted the land of its minerals and the soil in Hulda was completely barren: not a tree, bush or flower broke the dreary landscape. And it took hours to get to the nearest city.
The years passed and no one wanted the desolate plots. Geula officials, who had borrowed from the bank to purchase the land, began to seriously wonder how they would recoup their losses.
Salvation came in 1908, when the newly established JNF decided to plant a forest in Hulda in honor of Herzl. The great visionary had passed away a few years earlier, and when told the money was for an olive grove in his memory, the donors generously opened their bags. Unfortunately, however, although commonly identified with the Holy Land, olive trees were totally unsuitable for Hulda’s soil.
That was not the only problem. The accomplished German agronomist Louis Barish agreed to take on the Hulda project in 1909. However, knowledge that had served him well in Europe was not good for the Middle East. The planting season in Israel differed from that in Europe, but he insisted on sticking to what he knew best.
Most of Barish’s workers came from Eastern Europe. Idealistic Zionists objected to his employment of additional Arab manpower, could not understand German, and greatly resented Barish’s presumptuous attitude. And no wonder: Barish lavished his resources on building a grand residence in Herzl’s honor, appropriating the four large rooms on the top floor for himself, and huddled the workers in the damp, stuffy basement along with snakes. , scorpions and other creepy. crawling creatures.
Barish was sent packing barely a year after his arrival, and the vast majority of the olive saplings planted in Hulda soon perished. Eventually, the JNF completely revised its thinking and in 1912 planted its first pine forest in Hulda.
Herzl Forest today is included within a much larger Hulda Forest filled with an unusually wide variety of trees. It features South American pepper, eucalyptus, Australian casuarinas (so named because the twigs resemble the feathers of the cassowary bird), cypress, all kinds of pines, sycamores, chinaberry, acacia, and Washington trees. Fruit trees also abound: carob, dates, olive and pistachio trees and, at the end of winter, almond trees in bloom.
With Barish gone and the forests replanted, Hulda became a training farm for pioneers. Diaspora Jews rarely knew anything about agriculture, and enthusiastic young men came singly and in organized groups to study farming and forestry techniques that they could apply to settlements across the country.
A large sign marks Tel Hai Grove, planted in 1920 after a famous battle. Among those killed at Tel Hai was Benjamin Munter, who had studied agriculture in Hulda as a new immigrant before heading north to help colonize the Galilee. After the battle, he found his bullet-riddled body housing a second pioneer, Sara Chisik. As a result, though she, too, lay dead, her body was left less devastated than his by the hand grenade that killed them both. A grove of trees was planted in his memory: look for the sign.
The trail’s natural green foliage lies in the path of the Shaham River, which was frequently overflowing until pipes began to redirect the water a few decades ago. The mosquitoes in this swamp made life miserable for the farmers of Hulda.
Along the trail are tall, graceful fir trees, their rocket-like peaks stretching skyward. Known as Lovers’ Lane for nearly a century, this part of the woods remains a romantic setting.
Over the years, children were born, often to couples who met on the farm. A patio was built to house the stables, chicken coops and stable; Warehouses, a laundry, a guardhouse, a workers’ residence and a water tank were built on its walls.
Rachel’s Grove was planted in 1931 in memory of the famous young poet who died at a young age. Nearby is a beautiful avenue of magnificent Washingtonian palms, with tall, straight trunks and a fan-shaped crest.
The most striking feature of the forest is a monument called “Labor and Defense” in memory of the fallen pioneers. It is located on the grave of Ephraim Chisik. Chisik, whose sister was killed at Tel Hai, left the Galilee to help defend Hulda in 1929.
That year, following a savage incitement campaign and using a dispute over the Western Wall as an excuse, bloody riots broke out in and around Jerusalem. In the massacres that followed, the Arabs murdered Jews in Motza and more than 60 men, women and children in Hebron.
Then thousands of victory-drunk Arabs attacked Hulda, which was isolated in the forest with only a few dozen armed settlers. When rioters set fire to the farmhouse threshing floor, the flames moved to the yard.
Chisik and his reinforcements, in the woods, were forced to reposition in the courtyard. When their situation became untenable, he ordered them to take refuge in the big house, covering them as they crawled forward. The last to leave, Chisik, was fatally shot as he was running towards the shelter.
Although the young farmers managed to hold off the enemy, the eventually arriving British forced them to evacuate Herzl House and denied them permission to remove Chisik’s body. He was buried a few days later, on this site.
Constructed from a gigantic block of hard Jerusalem limestone that was cut into two parts, the monument was unveiled in 1937 after seven years of work. The young sculptor Batya Lichansky lived in a tent adjacent to the site and traveled to Jerusalem once a week to sharpen her tools.
Although he did not specify who all the figures should be, most people think the towering figure at the top is Ephraim Chisik, one arm outstretched like a wing while the other clutches a grenade behind his back. The image below is believed to be Benjamin Munter, protecting Ephraim’s sister, Sara. Tools, a cart wheel and sheaves of wheat are carved on the monument, symbolizing the conquest of the land by the plow.
The Herzl House, the courtyard and the forest were completely devastated by the Arabs in 1929, and the land remained empty for the next two years. But in 1931, the World Zionist Congress decided to encourage permanent settlement in Hulda. The group that came, young people from Poland, partially restored the house, rebuilt the yard and planted new trees. Six years later they decided to move to a more defensible site nearby, the current Kibbutz Hulda.
One side of the Herzl House features a huge portrait of the great Zionist. After the Hulda kibbutzniks left the forest, and until the recent $2 million renovation, it was left alone and abandoned.
Inside is Barish’s desk and, behind it, a fascinating display showing how potential donors were persuaded to contribute to the JNF. Dozens of postcards, sent across the Diaspora, show joyous pioneers planting trees amidst lush green forests.
A final feature on this site is Exhibit Avenue, a paved walkway lined on both sides with Washingtonians that offers a charming and innovative display of Hulda’s history.