All the Trees of the Forest: Israel's Woodlands from the Bible to the Present

Yale Agrarian Studies Series

by Alon Tal

In this insightful and provocative book, Alon Tal provides a detailed account of Israeli forests, tracing their history from the Bible to the present, and outlines the effort to transform drylands and degraded soils into prosperous parks, rangelands, and ecosystems. Tal’s description of Israel’s trials and errors, and his exploration of both the environmental history and the current policy dilemmas surrounding that country's forests, will provide valuable lessons in the years to come for other parts of the world seeking to reestablish timberlands.

Genres: Nature, History

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2013

About the author

Alon Tal (Hebrew: אלון טל‎‎, born 12 July 1960) is a leading Israeli environmental activist and academic, founder of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and a co-founder of Ecopeace Middle East,This is My Earth,[4] the Israel Forum for Demography, Environment and Society Aytzim: Ecological Judaism and the Green Movement political party. Tal was appointed chair of the department of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University in 2017.

Reviews

[Joeji · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive account of the ecological results of JNF/ KKL planting in Israel and attempts to address the "green deserts." While the book is detailed, it is not quite critical of Israeli planting beyond a policy perspective and assumes a Romantic attachment to trees and forests which has the effect of obscuring real inquiry. For instance, Tal makes several references to Irus Braverman, even interviewing her, but doesn't really mention some of the critical aspects of her work, namely the way that Zionism functions and is made through tree planting - not just trees as symbols of nationalism. While Tal does talk here and there about the history of tree planting on Palestinian villages, he collapses it back into a liberal framework that tends to relegate it to something of the past, even though land law in Israel still functions to hinder Palestinian-Israeli development, Also, it should be noted that Tal is an "insider," though critical of past JNF practices. He explains his positioning in the beginning of the book, as a critic become board member, but it does beg the question of how hindered is his analysis as a result.

But using his insider status does allow Tal to write a very detailed account of some of the people and the debates within the JNF over the years. It also is a good account of how Israeli law functions to promote green spaces and the importance of these spaces for future planning. Overall, a good read and a comprehensive history of ecological arguments in Israel concerning tree planting up to the present.

[Anna Shulman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is especially interesting to read this book and learn of all the sacrifices people made with the trees of israel while hearing the news of the burning Amazon forests. Such different perspectives on same subject.