Canada Park
Canada Park (Hebrew: פארק קנדה, Arabic:كندا حديقة) (also Ayalon Park)[1] is a national park stretching over 7,000 dunams, mostly in the West Bank, with a portion in the region that was a no man's land before 1967 and incorporated into Israel in 1967.[2] It is maintained by the Jewish National Fund of Canada. Canada Park is located west of Jerusalem, to the north of Highway 1 (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem), between the Latrun intersection and Sha'ar HaGai.[3] The park attracts some 300,000 visitors annually.[4]
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[edit] History
All Arab villages in the Latrun salient were razed during the Six Day War on the orders of Israeli general Yitzhak Rabin and over 10,000 inhabitants were expelled.[5][6][7] Canada Park was established on the lands of two of the Arab villages depopulated at this time: Imwas and Yalo.[8] The inhabitants were granted compensation but not allowed to return.[7] Imwas, Yalo and Bayt Nuba were demolished as part of strategic plans to widen the Jerusalem Corridor.[9] Dayr Ayyub, also on the grounds of the park, had been partly destroyed during the fighting in 1948 and never rebuilt.[10] The settlement of Mevo Horon was built on the lands of Bayt Nuba in 1970.[11]
[edit] Canadian funding
In 1972, Bernard Bloomfield of Montreal, then President of JNF Canada, spearheaded a campaign among the Canadian Jewish community to raise $15 million for the park's establishment. The road leading to the park is named for John Diefenbaker, the former Canadian Prime Minister, who opened it in 1975. The project was completed in 1984.[12] JNF Canada continues to fund the upkeep of the park through donations received for this purpose.
[edit] Features
Canada Park covers an area of 7,000 dunams.[13] It is filled with wooded areas, walking trails, water features and archaeological sites. Trees in the park include olive, carob, pomegranate, pine and almond. The area is also home to a range of wildlife from lizards and turtles to gray ravens and blue jays.[14] Historical ruins on the grounds of the park include a Roman bathhouse, a Hasmonean cemetery, and a Crusader fortress (Castellum Arnaldi).[15] Two Second Temple-era ritual baths were also discovered there. [16] At the foot of one of the hills that overlooks the city of Modi'in is a large reservoir built by the Jewish National Fund for irrigating local fields.[17]
In the middle of the park is a forest planted to commemorate over 300 American and Canadian Jews who died in Israel's wars or were victims of terror. An annual memorial ceremony is organized by the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI). In 2001, the ceremony was attended by the US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro.[18]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Remembering the Americans and Canadians who Fell
- ^ First autumn crocus blooms in Canada Park
- ^ Remembering the Americans and Canadians who Fell
- ^ Canada Park – an Israeli haven for picnickers, hikers, cyclists
- ^ Al-Haq Legal Brief
- ^ Segev, Tom (2006). 1967: Israel, the War and the Year That Transformed the Middle East, Metropolitan Books, pp. 306-309.
- ^ a b Oren, 2002, p. 307.
- ^ Al-Haq Legal Brief
- ^ Right of Remembrance, Haaretz
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. xx, village #337.
- ^ Al-Haq Legal Brief
- ^ Columbo, 2001, p. 133
- ^ CREATING IN GREEN - Trees, Parks and Recreation Areas
- ^ Coussin, Orna. Splendor on the grass. Israel: Haaretz. http://web.archive.org/web/20081015103614/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=%20420153&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y. Retrieved 2008-07-19
- ^ Winter, 2000, p. 591.
- ^ Canada Park – an Israeli haven for picnickers, hikers, cyclists
- ^ First autumn crocus blooms in Canada Park
- ^ Remembering the Americans and Canadians who Fell
[edit] Bibliography
- Benvenisti, Meron (2002). Sacred Landscape. University of California Press. ISBN 0520234227, 9780520234222.
- Brynen, Rex; El-Rifai, Roula (2007). Palestinian Refugees Challenges of Repatriation and Development: challenges of repatriation and development. Canada: International Development Research Centre. ISBN 1552502317.
- Colombo, John Robert (2001). 1000 questions about Canada: places, people, things, and ideas : a question-and-answer book on Canadian facts and culture. Dundurn Press Ltd.. ISBN 0888822324, 9780888822321.
- David Newman, Clive Schofield (1995). Boundaries in Flux: The 'Green Line' Boundary Between Israel and the West Bank - Past, Present and Future. IBRU. ISBN 189764325X, 9781897643259.
- Swedenburg, Ted (2003). Memories of revolt: the 1936-1939 rebellion and the Palestinian national past. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1557287635, 9781557287632.
- Winter, Dave (2000). Israel Handbook: With the Palestinian Authority Areas. Canada: Footprint Handbooks. ISBN 1900949482.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 31°50′19″N 34°59′52″E / 31.83861°N 34.99778°E
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