Dendrolatry

Pagans worship trees (dendrolatry for the exquisite) but the superstition was supposed to have been erradicated in Israel by the prophets 2500 years ago. Druids and Nazis still may worship Yggdrasil and its squirrel Ratatoskr, but not us, kosher Jews. My ignorance was shaken when the building project  in Petach Tikva I am working on was stopped because of a sycamore tree, a decrepit eucaliptus and some spontaneous shrubs found on the site. It is a criminal act to kill trees in Israel, they all have to be declared to the Ministry of Environment and be mapped by the KKL. The sycamore is a native wild fig (pic) and when old, its transference is very expensive. I proposed to cut down the tree and plant a small and young one instead, but local nurseries dont sell it. I located in the internet a Zimbabwean nursery that sells African sycamores (the same thing) but our tree worshippers dont think of trees as mortal beings nor garden plants, say a rose, for them the sycamore has "values" (ערכים). The concept of economic value if unkown to them, they mean spiritual values that cannot be defined.The Tree for these pagans is a living being with soul and divine qualities. You offend or kill aa tree and the consequences will be vaguely terrible, unpredictable. The Angry Tree Soul and its Mother Earth will surely take revenge.

Impressive native fig trees have some decorative and cultural value, but what about the eucalyptus? It is an economic plant tht was introduced from Australia. You can buy it in any tree nursery. Can I cut firewood from it and make place for 50 apartments for young couples? Not in Israel. Eucalyptus trees are also sacred. So what about the miscellaneous shrubbery that illegally occupies my land? You are not entitled to touch them. Specialists will have to classify them (at your expense) and they say that some are a local variety that cannot be found on the next hill, it must be declared protected and you can say Adiós to you building project. All this is wonderful for botanists and ecologists, that have found or created for themselves a consulting niche.