Hollywood Stars Watts and Schreiber in Israel for First Time

Traveled the Country with Jewish National Fund

Contact: Jodi Bodner • JNF Director of Communications • 212-879-9305 ext. 221 • jbodner@jnf.org

June 23, 2009 -- New York, NY -- In Israel for the first time, Hollywood stars Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts and their two young children planted trees in a Jewish National Fund park and visited Sderot.

The couple also took in the important Christian and Jewish holy sites, met with President Shimon Peres and enjoyed Tel Aviv's renowned beaches and night life.

Schreiber's most recent roles were in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," and playing Zus Bielski in "Defiance." Watts of "King Kong" fame was most recently in "The International."

The itinerary was planned by Jewish National Fund (JNF), caretakers of the land of Israel for more than 107 years. The first official stop was helping to green the land by planting a tree up north in the Galilee. As Naomi read aloud the tree planting blessing, Liev looked to place the pistachio sapling in the ground but first had to remove his son Sacha who had eagerly planted himself in the hole. To watch the video, go to http://www.jnf.org/support/tree-planting-center.

Swimming in Lake Kinneret, visiting the Western Wall, and going to the biblical zoo were itinerary highlights but one of their favorite stops was the secure indoor recreation center JNF just built for the children and families of Sderot.

"As a mother of two young children," said Watts, "I know how important it is to have a great play environment. This place is a great source of fun for these children and the attention to detail is just magnificent. I thank JNF for bringing us here and building this special place." To see the video, go to http://www.jnf.org/.

Schreiber said his grandfather was a strong Zionist who had always wanted him to go to Israel. His grandfather died before he could make that happen, so this trip has special meaning for him.

Captions: Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts and their two children, 22-month-old Sacha, and 5-month-old Samuel Kai (under the blanket owing to the 100 degree weather) plant roots in Israel with JNF.

Schreiber, Watts, and Sacha enjoy the Sderot indoor rec center's blow up slide with area residents.

 # # #

Jewish National Fund (JNF) began in 1901 collecting coins in blue boxes to purchase land and return the Jewish people to their homeland. In over 109 years, JNF has evolved into a global environmental leader and become the central address for partnering with the land and people of Israel. JNF has planted 250 million trees; built over 1,000 parks and recreational areas; constructed security roads; educated students around the world about Israel; created new communities so that Jews from around the world would have a place to call home; discovered new means of growing plants under arid conditions, bringing green to the desert; and built over 200 reservoirs and water recycling centers, increasing Israel’s water supply by 10%. Today, JNF is supporting Israel’s newest generation of pioneers by bringing life to the Negev Desert, Israel’s last frontier. 

A United Nations NGO, JNF sponsors international conferences on desertification, shares afforestation techniques, and funds research on arid land management. JNF is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and continuously earns top ratings from charity overseers. For more information on JNF, call 888-JNF-0099 or visit www.jnf.org.