Wednesday, February 27, 2019: Liberian President George Manneh Weah plants an olive tree in the KKL-JNF Grove of Nations in Jerusalem, becoming the 112th head of state to do so.
Liberian President Mr. George Manneh Weah was greeted at the Grove of Nations in Jerusalem by KKL-JNF Director of Protocol Andy Michelson, who noted the symbolic importance in Jewish tradition of planting a tree.
“By planting a tree here today, in this grove, you are leaving a living thing here, which you will be able to come to see again on your next visit and see how it has grown,” he said. “For us, the planting of a tree is very important, and we plant trees for life cycle events such as weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.”
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Grove of Nations is especially reserved for visiting heads of state from all over the world, who plant olive trees as symbols of peace. The grove symbolizes the aspiration for peace between the countries of the world and solidarity with the state of Israel and the Jewish people. Weah is the 112th leader to plant a tree there since it was inaugurated in 2005.
Liberia was one of the African countries that voted for the UN Partition Plan for Palestine in the UN General Assembly on the 29th November, 1947, in favor of an independent Jewish state.
“I am honored to be in Israel and today, we have seen so much,” said Weah, who, in addition to his wife, the First Lady Clar Weah, was accompanied by a delegation of seven ministers as well as the chairman of Liberia’s National Investment Commission and the mayor of Liberia’s capital city Monrovia, Mr. Jefferson Koijee. “We are believers and what we have seen today is so amazing. I hope that Israel will have the peace it is yearning for. God bless Israel.”
During his four-day visit to Israel, Weah is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, and will participate in several key events connected to agriculture and the economy.
The delegation also toured Christian holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City prior to the KKL-JNF tree planting ceremony and was expected to visit Yad Vashem on February 28.
In the evening, the Jerusalem municipality hosted Weah- who is a former international soccer star who played for Milan-at a festive soccer game. Weah is considered one of the top African players in history.
Noting that the location of the Grove of Nations is just below Yad Vashem, Michelson said that the grove and its trees also symbolized the strength of life in the face of death.
Following the Planter’s Prayer, which was recited by Michelson, Weah and his wife planted the olive tree sapling. Weah blessed the tree and said that he was planting the tree to “show the world peace is here.”
Michelson presented the president with a framed certificate in appreciation of his visit. He presented the First Lady with a brooch depicting the three seminal colors of KKL-JNF: green, blue, and brown, representing the fields of KKL-JNF activity: trees, water and earth.