The flowering of the Siglon trees on Kish Boulevard Haifa • Yossi Lubalski

Did you know?

Sderot Kish is named after Friedrich Kish who was a Jewish-British army man and a Zionist leader. In the years 1909-1914 he served as an officer in the British Corps of Engineers in India. He was married in his first marriage to Ruth Laura nee Franklin, and the couple had two children (Michael Samuel and Jonathan Benjamin). Later he married Gian nee Colin.

His grandson, Yoav Kish (Michael's son) is a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force and a former Bel Al, Member of Knesset and currently Minister of Education on behalf of the Likud. Friedrich had a rich military past and a broad Zionist occupation that contributed greatly to the momentum of Zionism in Israel. In 1922 he joined the Zionist administration and was the director of the political department of the Zionist administration in Jerusalem until 1929. After that he was appointed head of the political department of the Jewish Agency. In 1932 he was appointed a member of the Roads Council of the Land of Israel. In 1934 he moved to Haifa, where he built his house which later, in 1958, was purchased by the Haifa municipality and on his lot the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established with his original house serving as the museum's archive.

The single-leaved Siglon tree / Scientific name: Jacaranda mimosifolia

The origin of the single-leaved siglon is in the northern part of South America, where it grows in warm mountainous areas. It is convenient to grow Siglon in the climate of the Land of Israel. The tree was brought to Israel during the days of the British Mandate for planting in the hot areas, but was also successfully absorbed in sheltered places in the mountains. Single-leaved siglon reaches a height of 15 meters. It blooms in the spring in the months of May - June. Its blossoms often cover the entire tree and the purple-blue color of the flowers is very noticeable. Due to the blossoming, it is difficult to recognize at a superficial glance the leaf spotting that occurs at the same time.

The single-leaved ciglon is often planted as a sedrot plant and stands out for its purple blooms and green foliage. It's no wonder that passers-by, including me, enjoy the sight of the blossoms and especially the sight of the fall when the tree leaves cover the sidewalks of the street and here is a painting I drew up Sderot Kish with the sight of the Siglon trees on its sides.