Story by Donald H. Harrison; Photos by Shor M. Masori
SAN DIEGO — Ziv Ayalon, the new director-general of the Tisch Family Zoo in Jerusalem – known popularly as the Biblical Zoo and as the Jerusalem Zoo– said Tuesday he had a special reason for wanting to accompany six Israeli teens to San Diego for a 10-day program in which they will experience the San Diego Zoo and other local sightseeing attractions.
The reason, he said, is because wherever he looks at the Biblical Zoo, he finds the names of San Diegans whose donations helped to build it. Among the family names that he rattled off – Goldberg, Furgatch, Hirsch, Price, Winnick, Marshall, Alpern, Barnett, and Gordon, one name caused a particular stir at a luncheon held in the Treetops Room of the San Diego Zoo.
That was the name of Ellen Barnett, for whom the lake near the entrance of the Biblical Zoo, is named. It turned out that Barnett, who is approaching her 100th birthday, was in the room, and she was saluted with Happy Birthday wishes both in English and in Hebrew.
Ayalon told attendees at the luncheon that the “zoo which you have helped build over the years is an island of sanity. It is the only major site in the city where everyone comes and feels welcome. Arab, Jew, Christian, Druze, young, old, new immigrant tourist – all of them walk through the front gates of the Zoo and feel equal.”
Emcee for the occasion was Rabbi Moshe Levin, the former spiritual leader of Congregation Beth El, who has been living in retirement in the San Francisco Bay area. He was persuaded by Helena Galper, coordinator of the youth exchange program between the two zoos, to return for a visit to San Diego.
Levin noted that in heraldry, artists often depict lions standing up and having faces that look almost human. Because some artists had never seen real lions, they didn’t have any idea how to depict them, Levin said. This prompted Aharon Shulov to found the Biblical Zoo so that people will actually be able to see what animals mentioned in the Bible looked like. Shulov’s granddaughter, Helit, was among the adults serving as chaperones for the visiting teens, who included one Arab boy and a total of five Jewish boys and girls.
The six students visiting from Israel all are volunteers at the Tisch Family Zoo, with many of them currently working in the zoo’s Australian section. From its original mission of presenting biblical animals, the zoo has expanded to include animals from throughout the world. It also participates in animal conservation efforts, a field in which the San Diego Zoo is a leader.
The president and CEO of San Diego Zoo Global which oversees the San Diego Zoo’s conservation efforts worldwide, is Douglas Myers. He was presented with a congressional certificate of recognition for his achievements in the field of zoology and conservation by Congresswoman Susan Davis’s community representative, Zach Bunshaft.
Bunshaft also presented congressional certificates to the Israeli students and their American hosts for participating in the program, which Davis said contributed to international understanding.
The American hosts are accompanying the Israelis during the 10-day visit to various places of interest which, in addition to the Zoo itself, include the Safari Park, Sea World, a San Diego Bay excursion, and Disneyland, among other attractions.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com