Frequently Asked Questions

No, as long as the tree is not a fruit tree. Palestine Oak and Terebinth are not fruit-bearing trees in the Halakhic sense, and planting them in honor of the deceased is permitted and even meritorious.

In the proposed plan, the laws of ritual impurity would apply as they do at any cemetery. If and when the site is established, its boundaries will be clearly marked and reviewed with qualified Halakhic authorities.

The planned model is a Public Benefit Company established for this purpose, which will seek a license from the Ministry of Religious Services under the Alternative Civil Burial Law. No company has yet been established and no license has been issued.

The planned legal model includes a restrictive covenant for families and a public trust for the site. It is under legal review and has not been registered because a site has not yet been selected. Once completed, it is expected to substantially reduce the risk of a change in land use.

Subject to project licensing, we are working to enable residents buried in their area of residence to exercise eligibility for burial grants from the National Insurance Institute. Until licensing is complete, this is a planned eligibility rather than a guarantee.

The vision is to establish a civil cemetery that will operate subject to licensing under the Right to Alternative Civil Burial Law (1996). If the initiative is licensed and established, each family will be able to choose the character of the ceremony, subject to applicable law and site arrangements.

The plan is for every grave to receive GPS coordinates stored in a digital registry, with an app guiding visitors to the appropriate tree. The system will be developed and validated before the site opens.

The plan is for a public trust and dedicated maintenance fund to support long-term forest care. The trust structure, funding mechanism, and commitments have not yet been finalized.

You can join the early-interest list and note interest in a double or family plot, without financial commitment. Final allocation can be considered only after site selection, licensing, and detailed planning are complete.

In the Yaar Ad vision, rows of headstones, concrete, and marble are replaced with direct earth burial, a living memorial tree, and planned digital marking. Delivering this vision is subject to site selection, licensing, and completion of planning.

General hydrogeological data for the Judean Foothills, not for a specific parcel that has yet to be selected, indicate a relatively low groundwater-contamination risk. Every candidate site will require a focused hydrogeological assessment before any advance.

There is not yet sufficient research on this specifically in Mediterranean soil. Existing research on alkaline soils suggests a relatively low risk, but Yaar Ad plans to conduct independent monitoring from opening day to examine it.

The planning target for the first phase is about 3,000 trees. Under the research assumptions presented on this site, a mature Palestine Oak may absorb 12-22 kg CO₂ per year, so the target may reach 36-66 metric tons annually at peak maturity. This is a projection, not a measured result.

Pricing has not yet been determined and will be set after site approval and licensing are complete. You can join the early-interest list without financial commitment; subscribers will be updated at every milestone and may receive preferred pricing as the initiative progresses.