More than 50,000 tulips are blooming throughout the Gaza border area, thanks to bulbs supplied by the Netherlands-based organization, Christians for Israel (CVI).
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” 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 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.
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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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