An ancient olive tree that was transplanted from Nazareth to the Pope’s garden in the Vatican around six months ago has provided one of the high points in the special relationship between the State of Israel and the Holy See.
Israel’s Ambassador to the Vatican, Mordechai Lewy, explains that symbolic actions have a major role to play in the relations between the two states. “These symbolic gestures represent the reconciliation between Christianity and Judaism,” he said.
Lewy will leave his post as ambassador in July, after some five years in the job. We talked to him about his work, the Vatican, relations between Jews and Christians, and also about KKL-JNF. Mordechai Lewy formerly served as Israel’s Ambassador to Thailand, as a delegate in Berlin and as a diplomatic representative in Stockholm. Like the State he represents, he is 64 years old, and was even born on precisely the same day as the State of Israel: 5th Iyyar 5708 (1948).
The Vatican is the smallest state in the world: its territory measures only one half of a square kilometer, and in actuality it is a hill within the boundaries of the city of Rome. It is inhabited by around 800 people, most of them members of the Catholic clergy. However, despite its small size, the Vatican wields enormous influence, and it is the religious and spiritual center for some 1.1 billion Catholics throughout the world. The Pope is the Vatican’s head of state, and to Catholics he is also the successor of Saint Peter.
On the complexity of Israel-Vatican relations, Lewy said: “We have a shared history, but it is written in blood. Christianity is the offspring of Judaism, but it created a religion of its own. In order to define itself, Christianity must first of all define Judaism, and in the past this has led the two religions to compete over which of them had been chosen by God.”
Lewy emphasizes nonetheless: “At no stage in its history did the Church ever seek to exterminate the Jews, though there were periods when Judaism was accorded inferior status. Mobs and other elements seeking their own personal advantage incited against the Jews, but the Church usually offered sanctuary to those who suffered persecution.”
The turning point in Jewish-Catholic relations was the Second Vatican Council, which was held in Rome from 1962-65, and during which a declaration was issued to the effect that Jews enjoy God’s grace and that Judaism is on an equal footing with Christianity. “This declaration heralded the reconciliation between Jews and Catholics,” said the ambassador, and added: “There can be no doubt that the Holocaust was the background for this decision.”
Diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican were, however, established only thirty years later, in 1993. According to Ambassador Lewy, today this relationship has two main components, one political and diplomatic, the other religious and spiritual. “The Vatican does not generally intervene in current affairs, even though it holds opinions regarding them,” says Lewy.
The Vatican does not engage in commerce, and its economy is based mainly on donations. Because of this it has no trade relations with Israel, and of course, no security relations. “This is a relationship based primarily on spiritual, educational and cultural ties,” explained the ambassador.
This is the point where KKL-JNF enters the picture, as it was responsible for the performance of a highly significant gesture: the gift of an ancient olive tree that was transported to the papal garden from a hill near Nazareth.
A gift from Israel to the Vatican: A 400 Year Old Olive Tree
In the course of his visit to Italy in 2011, the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised to present Pope Benedict XVI with an olive tree as a symbol of brotherhood between the two states.
On his return to Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu appealed to KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler for help in keeping his promise. This request launched a complex operation.
The first thing was to choose the tree. A professional team led by agronomist Aviv Eisenband, Director of the Seeds and Nurseries section of KKL-JNF’s Afforestation Division, set out in search of a suitable candidate, and a beautiful 400-year-old olive tree growing near Nazareth, the birthplace of Christianity, was selected. As it was large, strong and healthy, the tree was considered to be capable of withstanding transplantation and acclimation in its new home.
The next stage was the tree’s journey to Italy, which it made by sea. Then, finally, the longed-awaited moment arrived, and the tree was planted in Vatican City by members of the local parks authority. The event received worldwide media coverage.
The official planting ceremony took place in October 2011, with the participation of high-ranking Vatican officials, KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler, President of KKL-JNF Italy Rafi Sasson, Ambassador Lewy, and KKL-JNF Italy CEO Rafi Ovadia. “It was a remarkable and moving event, which helped to strengthen relations between Israel and the Vatican,” said the ambassador.
During the planting ceremony at the Vatican, Ambassador Lewy told those present: “Planting a tree has always been an indication of new life. When a child is born, we plant a tree. When fire damages trees, we plant them anew. Even after a death, we perpetuate the memory of our loved ones by planting a tree.
“Planting an olive tree does not just symbolize a wish for peace. It is also a symbol of our desire for renewal and of mutual strengthening of the ties between us. I have no doubt that relations between Israel and the Holy See and between Judaism and Christianity will grow and deepen like the roots of this tree.”
The complex transplant operation was successful, and the ancient olive tree has acclimated to its new home. Many people visit it today, and the Pope himself, as he strolls in the garden every afternoon, sometimes passes by the tree that was brought to him especially from the Holy Land. If he pauses to read the nearby dedicatory plaque, he is surely immediately reminded that the tree was presented to him as a gift by the State of Israel, its Prime Minister and the Jewish National Fund, as a token of profound amity between Christians and Jews.
Rumor has it that the notion of presenting a tree to the Pope first cropped up during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Israel in 2009. On his way to the public mass he celebrated at Mount Precipice, overlooking Nazareth, the vehicle in which he was traveling slowed down at one of the turns, just beside an ancient and beautiful olive tree. “We need a tree just like that for the Vatican,” the Pope told a member of his entourage.
KKL-JNF also played a major role in the papal visit, which took place three years ago; it prepared the ground at Mount Precipice and erected a large amphitheater at the site to accommodate the 50,000 people who attended the mass.
KKL-JNF also constructed a trail that leads down the hillside and forms part of the Gospel Trail – the 62 kilometer hiking path that descends from Mount Precipice, skirts the foot of the Nazareth Hills and Beit Keshet Forest, leads down to the Horns of Hattin and ends at the Christian holy sites beside the Sea of Galilee. The trail was created by KKL-JNF in conjunction with the Government Tourism Company and the Ministry of Tourism.
In the course of his visit to Israel in 2009, the Pope, together with President Shimon Peres, planted an olive tree in the garden prepared by KKL-JNF at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
“KKL-JNF can make a significant contribution to promoting Israel’s relations worldwide,” said Ambassador Lewy. “The experience that the organization has acquired in the areas of ecology, water, forestry, agriculture and the fight against desertification can be of help to many other countries. This also provides an opportunity for us to show other aspects of Israel that do not usually find expression in the media.”
In conversation, Rafi Ovadia, CEO of KKL-JNF Italy, spoke to us of Ambassador Lewy’s remarkable activities: “For many years I have been working with a variety of official bodies in Italy, including the Israeli Embassy at the Vatican. I am very well acquainted with Ambassador Mordechai Lewy’s excellent work on behalf of Israel, which has also benefited KKL-JNF, and all praise is due to him. Ambassador Lewy has always been ready and willing to help KKL-JNF in its activities in the Vatican State, and his professional approach has produced good and positive results for both Israel and KKL-JNF.”