On Wednesday morning, the Israeli police arrested two 17-year-old youths on suspicion they were responsible for the devastating fires that surrounded Jerusalem for the last four days. Residents of the Ramot neighborhood reported that they saw the youths igniting fires in several locations. Hebrew-language Maariv News reported that police officers who arrived at the scene conducted a short foot chase, at the end of which the youths were arrested and taken for questioning. According to police, the two detainees smelled of fire. Police sources suggested that setting the fires “appears to be a prank”.

The fires destroyed about 5,000 acres of forest, making it one of the largest in Israel’s history and the largest in history to threaten the capital. 2,000 residents were evacuated from their homes and the Israeli government has asked for help from Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, and other Mediterranean countries. Israel accepted Turkey’s offer to send a firefighting plane. 

Shoresh isn’t new to the phenomenon of forest fires. In 1995, the village’s surrounding forests were also burned to a crisp. And so, in 2019, Rabbi Weisz visited Shoresh to plant trees as part of his organization’s wider campaign to plant trees throughout Israel and replenish the land from brush fires.

Shoresh was founded by Romanian immigrants in 1948, the year of the founding of the state of Israel. The word ‘Shoresh’ means ‘root’ in Hebrew and can be found in the book of Isaiah:

In that day, The root of Yishai that has remained standing Shall become a standard to peoples— Nations shall seek his counsel And his abode shall be honored. (Isaiah 11:10)

Rabbi Weisz was joined at the tree-planting ceremony by an Israeli resident of Shoresh as well as a Christian American.

To help plant more trees and replenish what was destroyed, click here.