Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) and Israel Nature and
Parks Authority staff members are amidst intensive preparations to receive the
hundreds of thousands of people expected to flock to the nation’s parks, forests
and nature reserves in celebration of Independence Day on Tuesday.
year, a record number of tourists come to hike and picnic in the country’s
parks, making it a challenge to keep the sites clean. This year, KKL-JNF will be
distributing about 2 million trash bags to visitors, so that they can do their
utmost to maintain the country’s treasured sites, the organization said.
Likewise, foresters are to patrol many of the grounds and ensure that visitors
thoroughly understand fire safety rules.
“Last year over a million
visitors came to the forests, parks and parking lots of KKLJNF, and this year we
expect about 1.3 million visitors, based on the increased turnout during the
recent holidays,” said KKL-JNF chairman Efi Stenzler.
take care to ignite their grills only in designated areas, and should also check
the wind direction in order to ensure that sparks do not fly into the woods,
KKL-JNF instructions said. It is crucial not to leave embers on the ground
unless they have been extinguished by water and covered in soil, the
The environmental Zionist organization Green Now
likewise called upon Israelis to remember that celebrating the country’s
continuity also means protecting the environment they love.
should use grills that consume electricity or gas rather than fuel sources that
can generate dangerous fumes, Green Now director Yael Israel said. While not
ideal, burning newspapers or a cardboard box of coals is still preferable to
using more polluting items such as glossy or coated papers, she added.
addition, it is critical to make sure that no garbage bags are left outside of
securely closed bins, in order to prevent the remains from catching on fire, she
Despite the many Israelis eager to bring their grilling equipment
and hiking shoes to the nation’s outdoors on Tuesday, the Israel Meteorological
Service (IMS) forecasts for Independence Day have been rather grim for a large
portion of the country.
According to the IMS forecast, while Israel’s
southernmost region will remain welcoming to visitors, with sunny skies and
nearly 30-degree-Celsius temperatures basking Eilat, skies are expected to be
partly cloudy further north in the Beersheba area, with a maximum temperature of
only 21 degrees Celsius.
The day’s dreariest forecasts have been
predicted for the country’s northern and central regions, which are likely to
feature mostly cloudy skies, isolated thunderstorms and scattered showers. As
temperatures drop significantly to unseasonably low levels and as winds
intensify, waves in the Mediterranean Sea are expected to become moderate to
rough – making swimming dangerous, the IMS warned.