Tzvi Hersch was born in 1950 in Belarus in the former Soviet Union. After he emigrated to Israel with his parents and siblings in 1992 he made his home in Safed in the Upper Galilee. About a year after his aliyah, Hersch began working for KKL-JNF. In the beginning, he worked in forestry, doing such jobs as planting trees in the Biriya Forest and its surroundings, cleaning the forest, etc.
In 1995, after he took a metalworking course that lasted for about a year, Tzvi began working in the metalworking shop in Biriya, where he dealt with everything related to making furnishings for the forest - including work preparing picnic tables, benches, bridges, fences, signs, and more. Tzvi excelled in his devotion to his work, and his beloved friends in KKL-JNF were like his supportive and encouraging family.
A unique project that Tzvi helped establish is that of the bird lookouts in KKL-JNF's Hula Valley site. These are impressive wooden structures that were set up on the banks of the small lake, which bird-watchers and visitors from Israel and abroad use to research and enjoy the vast variety of birds that can be seen from these scenic lookouts.
Hersch and his colleagues in the metalworking shop built the metal foundations on which the wooden panels were placed that lend the lookouts a natural look that fits into the scenery of KKL-JNF's Hula Valley.
Tzvi was born with a hearing defect and is unable to hear without the hearing aid he wears. Those doing metalwork are exposed to very loud noises, which never bothered Tzvi due to his deafness, thus allowing him to work with extreme professionalism and enjoy his job.
Tzvi Hersch at his job in the metalworking shop in the Biriya Forest. Photo: Mira Zar
In 2018, Tzvi Hersch retired from his job at KKL-JNF, and since then he has continued to work in the Biriya metalworking shop once a week when he is asked to help out. That's how KKL-JNF gained a precious person who contributed, and continues to contribute loyally and professionally to its activities.
On the days that Tzvi is not volunteering for KKL-JNF, he spends his time relaxing and taking trips throughout the country and the world, and enjoys reading history books.