Spreading the Light: The legacy of Ammunition Hill’s olive trees
A simple, symbolic tree-planting ceremony in the shadow of the Six-Day War yields a harvest of love, unity, and hope for thousands of Israelis and Jews around the world this Chanukah.
In 1972, 182 families gathered on a hillside in Jerusalem and planted 182 olive trees. These were the bereaved parents, siblings, and children of the brave soldiers who fell in the siege of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. The tree-planting ceremony at Jewish National Fund-USA-supported Ammunition Hill—site of the war’s bloodiest battles—was held to mark the fifth anniversary of the war. The symbolic act was meant to literally put down roots in the newly united Jewish capital in memory of their loved ones and to commemorate their eternal yearning for peace.
For decades, the trees stood as part of the naturally wild landscape of Ammunition Hill, preserved as a memorial in 1975 and later declared a national heritage site. During the autumn months, visitors exploring the preserved trenches and monuments would sometimes pick the olives, but no organized effort was made to harvest them.
A Forgotten Landscape Rediscovered
That changed five years ago, at the height of the first wave of COVID. With Israel in lockdown and Ammunition Hill closed to visitors, the site’s core team took time to explore its grounds more thoroughly.
“We noticed how the olive trees were just heaving with fruit,” said Alon Wald, Head of Marketing & Operations at Ammunition Hill National Heritage Center. “It felt like nature was calling out, saying: ‘Hey, guys, it’s time!’”
Thus began a deeply moving initiative, led by Wald, that spans generations and communities, linking past and future heroes. Over the past five years, this project has expanded to engage diverse segments of Israeli society.
The First Harvest: A Modest Beginning
The first harvest, constrained by pandemic restrictions, was modest. With special permission from the Ministry of Health, a Jerusalem-based Scouts troop was invited to help.
“We had no idea what we were doing,” Wald laughed. “I told them to Google it.”
Armed with ladders, bags, and garden tools, the Scouts “reconquered Ammunition Hill” and harvested the olives. The fruit was then transported in the trunk of Wald’s car to the Jerusalem Olive Oil (Beit Bad ve Shemen) olive press in Moshav Beit Hanan. A partner in the initiative from the start, the press has generously pressed the olives free of charge since the first harvest, year after year.
For Wald, the project was deeply personal. His father, Rami Wald z”l, fell at just 32 during the war for the liberation of Jerusalem, leaving behind a young widow and his 10-month-old son, Alon.
“I was going full circle with the olive initiative,” Wald pointed out. “I was literally drawing something good, something ‘alive,’ from this soil.”
That first harvest produced just under four liters of “pure, premium” olive oil. Tiny bottles were distributed to the families of fallen soldiers, and the oil was used to light the Hanukkiah at Ammunition Hill.
A Nation’s Story in Every Drop
Over the next two years, the initiative grew, with more volunteers helping during the fall harvest. Each year, the oil yield doubled, enabling the team to distribute more bottles.
By the third year, Jewish National Fund – USA —the philanthropic organization and partner of the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS), under whose umbrella Ammunition Hill falls—encouraged Wald to involve additional affiliates in the harvesting efforts.
“That year, we had kids with special needs through one affiliate, LOTEM – Making Israel Accessible, working shoulder to shoulder with teens from another affiliate, HaShomer HaChadash,” said Wald. “It was extraordinary to see how these olive trees brought us all together.”
The harvest involved 600 volunteers over two days, producing 42 liters of oil—ten times the yield of the first year. Bottles were distributed not only to families and veterans but also to the President of Israel, the Mayor of Jerusalem, and the IDF Chief of Staff. The story and symbolism of the gift moved all who received it.
Lighting the Darkness in Gaza
In a twist that could only happen in Israel’s story, last year’s scheduled harvest coincided with the outbreak of war on October 7.
Wald secured special permission from the Ministry of Defense to proceed. With philanthropic support from Jewish National Fund-USA and the help of evacuated youth from Kibbutz Sa’ad in the Western Negev, they prepared 90 Hanukkah kits that included the precious olive oil. These kits were sent to IDF units fighting inside Gaza.
“Imagine that!” Wald exclaimed. “Ninety army units lit Hanukkah candles throughout the festival, using oil from Ammunition Hill, in the heart of Gaza, during an existential war.”
2024: A Record-Breaking Harvest for Peace and Unity
This year’s Ammunition Hill olive harvest was joined by another Jewish National Fund-USA affiliate, Special in Uniform (Gdolim BeMadim), which integrates young people with disabilities into the IDF.
“Jewish National Fund-USA remains a constant and integral part of the initiative,” Wald noted.
At the time of harvest, it was decided that half of the record-breaking 100 liters of oil yielded would be sent to Lebanon, where Israeli troops have been operating to neutralize Hezbollah threats. With a ceasefire now signed, it is hoped that by Hanukkah, Israeli soldiers will be back home with their families. The remaining oil will go to IDF units in Gaza.
Carrying Light Across All Borders
The impact of this initiative, which spans generations, societies, communities, and continents, doesn’t stop after the two-day harvest.
Volunteers from Israel and abroad help bottle the oil that makes up the Hanukkah kits. Children from evacuated communities write notes to soldiers, thanking them for their service, and these are packed into the kits. The oil has been used to light Hanukkiot in Jewish communities worldwide, where Alon and his team share stories of bravery and sacrifice from Ammunition Hill.
“There is something very special about this oil,” Wald concluded. “It brings so many people together. It encourages them to do good for others. It spreads the light that began with a simple, symbolic ceremony—one that represented tragedy but also an ancient dream of living in peace in our homeland.”
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