Over 50,000 Dutch tulips brighten Gaza border communities
Bulbs supplied by Christians for Israel, a Netherlands-based organization, which says flowers symbolize roots of Jewish people in the Land of Israel that cannot be pulled up
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
More than 50,000 tulips are blooming throughout the Gaza border area, thanks to bulbs supplied by Christians for Israel (CVI), a Netherlands-based organization.
CVI’s Johan van der Ham, who is responsible for the project, said 150,000 bulbs had been distributed throughout Israel, with “at least a third” going to the Gaza border area.
They were planted a month ago, in partnership with the Tekuma Directorate, which is responsible for rehabilitating the area after the deadly Hamas-led invasion on October 7, 2023, and are now beginning to bloom.
The planting project, in its second year, has kindergarten children planting bulbs in public areas in the regional authorities of Eshkol, Sdot Negev, and Hof Ashkelon.
Van der Ham, who brought a group of Dutch Christians with him to learn about Israel “beyond the news headlines,” said that while the tulip was a Dutch symbol (some species of tulip grow wild in Israel), it also reflected a passage in the Book of Amos that says the roots of the Jewish people in the land cannot be uprooted.
The tulip project has existed for many years, although since October 7, the organization has given special focus to the Gaza border area.
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