Israel to plant trees to memorialize Newtown victims

More than 2,000 people have donated funds to plant a grove of trees in Israel in memory of the victims of the shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Hadassah has raised more than $61,000 toward the planting of more than 3,000 trees honoring the victims of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The trees will be part of the Beersheva River Park, a 1,700-acre water, environmental and commercial area being built by the Jewish National Fund in Israel’s desert city.

The idea for the Newtown grove grew from a request by Veronique Pozner, whose son, Noah, was the only Jewish victim of the shooting. Pozner said memorial contributions could be directed toward the planting of trees in Israel.

The president of Hadassah, Marcie Natan, said her organization decided quickly that it wanted to include all 26 victims of the tragedy.

“Everybody was so affected by the massacre and wanted to do something to express their solidarity with the families,” Natan said. At $18 per tree, the gifts in memory of the Newtown victims thus far are enough to cover more than 3,300 trees. — jta