- Title: Hugging a tree in Israel to beat coronavirus blues
- Date: 13th July 2020
- Summary: APPOLONIA NATIONAL PARK, CENTRAL ISRAEL (RECENT - JULY 7, 2020) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING WITH OPEN ARMS TOWARDS A TREE AT NATIONAL PARK JERUSALEM (RECENT - JULY 9, 2020) (REUTERS) TWO GIRLS HUGGING A TREE WITH JERUSALEM OLD CITY WALLS IN BACKGROUND GIRL HUGGING A TREE COUPLE, WEARING FACE MASKS, HUGGING A TREE APPOLONIA NATIONAL PARK, CENTRAL ISRAEL (RECENT - JULY 7, 2020) (REUTERS) GROUP OF ISRAELIS, WEARING FACE MASKS, HUGGING A TREE/ DRONE VIEW OF TREES AND NATIONAL PARK WOMAN WALKING TOWARDS TREE, AND HUGGING IT MORE OF WOMAN, WEARING FACE MASK, HUGGING A TREE COUPLE BARBARA GRANT AND LARRY ABRAMSON, HUGGING A TREE, HOLDING HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI TREE-HUGGER, BARBARA GRANT, SAYING: "One of the hardest things about corona is that you.. the most basic human need is for connection, for touching, for hugging, so apart from my partner, I can't hug my children, my grandchildren so nature is beautiful, so you express your love for nature by hugging a tree, that's what we are doing." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAEL TREE-HUGGER, LARRY ABRAMSON, SAYING: "And also we wanted to try a "menage a tree." ABRAMSON AND GRANT LAUGHING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI TREE-HUGGER, BARBARA GRANT, SAYING: "So it's working quite nicely (LAUGHING) We can recommend it." HANDS MOVING TOWARDS A TREE, EMBRACING THE TREE VARIOUS OF ISRAELI COUPLE PAT ARTHUR AND MOSHE HAZAN EMBRACING A TREE (SOUNDBITE) (English) TREE-HUGGER MOSHE HAZAN, SAYING: "I think we are not hugging too many people these days, not our children, not our grandchildren and hugging a tree is quite a nice thing to do. We have no other alternative to hug. I can't hug Pat from morning till the evening, but hugging a tree is quite a very special thing to do." (SOUNDBITE) (English) TREE-HUGGER PAT ARTHUR, SAYING: "When we met Moshe was going on a weekend tiyul (Hebrew for trip) to hug people and I always said he is going to hug a tree, so wherever I go there's a tree, I hug them." (LAUGHING) HAZAN'S HOLDING ARTHUR'S ARM WHILE HUGGING THE TREE DRONE VIEW OF NATIONAL PARK JERUSALEM (RECENT - JULY 9, 2020) (REUTERS) LOCAL VISITORS WEARING FACE MASKS, ARRIVING AT A PARK NEAR THE OLD CITY VIEW OF JERUSALEM OLD CITY MAN AND WOMAN HUGGING A TREE WITH OLD CITY WALLS IN THE BACKGROUND WOMAN WEARING MASK, HUGGING A TREE APPOLONIA NATIONAL PARK, CENTRAL ISRAEL (RECENT - JULY 7, 2020) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WEARING MASKS, HUGGING A TREE JERUSALEM (RECENT - JULY 9, 2020) (REUTERS) MOVING SHOT OF FAMILY OF FOUR PEOPLE HUGGING A TREE APPOLONIA NATIONAL PARK, CENTRAL ISRAEL (RECENT - JULY 7, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ORIT STEINFELD, ISRAEL'S NATURE AND PARK AUTHORITY MARKETING DIRECTOR, SAYING: "In this unpleasant corona period we recommend to people around the world to go out to the nature, take a deep breath, hug a tree, express your love and get love." (STEINFELD PUTS HER ARM AROUND TREE BRANCH) EIN HEMED, ISRAEL (RECENT - JULY 7, 2020) (REUTERS) DRONE VIEW OF FOREST DRONE VIEW OF MAN AND YOUTH, WEARING FACE MASKS, HUGGING A TREE
- Embargoed: 27th July 2020 11:15
- Keywords: Israel coronavirus health social distancing tree hugging
- Location: APOLLONIA NATIONAL PARK AND EIN HEMED, ISRAEL/ JERUSALEM
- City: APOLLONIA NATIONAL PARK AND EIN HEMED, ISRAEL/ JERUSALEM
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001CMN7HON
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Can't embrace friends and family these days? Hug a tree instead.
That's the message Israel's Nature and Parks Authority is spreading on social media to try to help people overcome the sense of detachment that coronavirus social distancing rules can bring.
"In this unpleasant corona period we recommend to people around the world to go out to nature, take a deep breath, hug a tree, express your love and get love," Orit Steinfeld, the authority's marketing director, said in Apollonia National Park.
At the park, about 15 km (9 miles) north of Tel Aviv, tree-huggers such as Barbara Grant, were heeding her advice, during a tour arranged by the Authority.
"The most basic human need is for connection, for touching, for hugging," she said, lamenting that as a health precaution, she can't hug her grandchildren.
Also out in the park, Moshe Hazan said he wanted to widen his embrace beyond his partner, Pat Arthur, who accompanied him to the forest.
"We are not hugging too many people these days - not our children, not our grandchildren - and hugging a tree is quite a nice thing to do," Hazan said.
After flattening a coronavirus infection curve in May, Israel has experienced a spike in new cases over the past several weeks.
Face masks are mandatory outdoors and Israelis are advised to avoid close physical contact with elderly relatives, with visits at nursing homes held in the open air.
Israel's tree-hugging campaign follows a similar endeavour launched in April by Iceland's forestry service.
(Production: Eli Berlzon, ilan Rosenberg, Lee marzel) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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