Volunteers from Iris Global's Harvest School joined up with The Beautiful Land Initiative outside the Tomb of Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNes in Tiberias Israel. With 90 volunteers, we made quick work of this area which is so unfortunately neglected. You would think that Holy sites would be treated in a more... "holy" way. The result of this neglect is trash pouring out of the location like streams.
Litter can be seen streaming down the hill from the entryway where there is a line of little gift shops. While littering at the holy site appears senseless (and it is) there are some practical causes as well.
Many thousands of religious Jewish people visit this site every year and would you believe it, there are virtually no trash cans.
Heidi Baker articulates so effortlessly the essence behind the work of the BLI when she says, "Love looks like something."
BLI was birthed out of a deep love for Israel and our vision to restore honor and dignity to the Land of Israel resonates with so many in Israel and from abroad. We are determined to reverse the trend of littering in Israel. That reversal would look like more and more cleanups happening throughout the country by every demographic.
To our joy, this is starting to happen on a national scale. Not only are our own efforts reaching across the country, but a movement has been sparked. Israelis from all walks of life and for many different reasons are taking to the streets, beaches, hiking trails, nature reserves, and neighborhoods to clean up litter.
We have a saying at BLI also, "Love makes everything beautiful."
We are thankful for lovers of Israel and the Jewish people like Heidi Baker who are willing to bring teams to Israel to do more than just tour the Land but to give back in meaningful and practical ways. Thank you, Heidi, and to each of the volunteers for being a part of the BLI.
May you keep shining!