City Parks strangles family’s ‘hostage tree’ project

City of Johannesburg officials have ordered a Jewish family to remove the yellow ribbons tied around a tree outside their home, a symbol of solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The family displayed the ribbons as a way of reminding passers-by of the hostages’ plight, but the officials told them the ribbons were damaging the tree.

Kari Berkowitz, a florist and tree lover, expressed her shock when municipal workers from Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo arrived at her Rouxville home on 25 September.

“They claimed that the ribbons were harming the tree,” she said. “But the tree is flourishing.”

“My husband, Joffie, and I started printing the number of days the hostages had been in captivity and placing the updated number on the tree each day together with pictures of the hostages. It was our way of standing in solidarity,” said Berkowitz.

Their initiative, which began on day 100 of captivity, became a focal point for many in the community, particularly schoolchildren who passed by the tree daily. “Children from various schools would stop, look at the tree, and often ask questions. My husband and I would sometimes chat to them and explain the significance. The children seemed genuinely interested in learning,” she said.

This small but meaningful act came to an abrupt halt when city officials arrived and ordered the removal of all paraphernalia from the tree. They said they had received anonymous complaints from members of the public.

The officials claimed the ribbons were “stressing” the tree, and causing long-term damage.

“I’m in the flower and tree business. I would never do anything to have a negative impact on the health of a tree. This was obviously a political move,” said Berkowitz.

Despite their anger, the family complied. “They said that if we didn’t, they would do so on our behalf, and we certainly didn’t want them to remove photographs of the hostages and chuck them away, so we did it ourselves,” said Berkowitz.

“I said to the one official that both she and I know this has nothing to do with the health of this beautiful tree, and that we both know this is political. She kept quiet,” said Berkowitz.

Upset, Berkowitz took to social media that day, and posted pictures of her tree, saying, “This is our hostage tree. Today is the last day that we can record the number of days since the hostages were stolen from their homes. We have been ordered by the city horticulturist and park rangers from the zoo to remove everything from the tree. Apparently, complaints were made anonymously. The complaints stated that our tree has been like this since October last year, even though we wrapped our tree and started the count only on day 100.

“This is clearly antisemitic, and has nothing to do with the health of the tree. Apparently, they have received complaints about other areas too. Lawfare on another level. Cowards!”

The move also angered the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, which posted on Facebook: “Johannesburg’s infrastructure crumbles but @CityofJoburgZA officials waste their time harassing Jewish residents. Several city employees arrived at this home, demanding the removal of yellow ribbons that were supposedly ‘harming a healthy tree’. This was an attempt to silence a community member who was showing solidarity with hostages. City of Johannesburg, we urge you to prioritise critical services like fixing roads, maintaining public spaces, and ensuring water access instead of censoring peaceful expression and trying to silence our community members. The Jewish community of Johannesburg won’t be silenced.”

Instead, the Berkowitz’s “hostage tree” was featured this week at the Board’s October 7 Square memorial at Great Park Synagogue to commemorate one year since the 7 October Hamas massacre.

For the memorial, the family created a notice in the form of a City of Joburg letter placed next to the tree, highlighting what happened. The sign was made to look like an official City of Johannesburg letter, bearing the tagline, “Joburg, a world-class Hamas puppet city.”

The letter told of their plight, saying, “Ironically, though so many trees in Johannesburg remain covered in political party signs long after elections and others are neglected for years with other appendages, the area horticulturist found the time and necessity to act as a proxy to demand the dismantling of the tree, instigated by a complaint from a deceitful member of the public who claimed it had been up since October 2023.”

Community members believe the removal order wasn’t just overreach but lacked sensitivity to the situation in Israel. “It’s incredibly disheartening,” said one member of the community who wished to remain anonymous. “This is a humanitarian issue, not just a symbolic gesture. We should urge the city to show compassion and reconsider.”

Berkowitz, unwilling to have her solidarity spirit quelled, said, “We’ll find another way. We won’t let this diminish the message we’re trying to send.”

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo spokesperson, Jenny Moodley, said she was unaware of this request by park rangers. “We have had a similar experience with the Cancer Association who wrap trees in pink ribbons. Trees are an asset of the city, and one requires permission prior to branding a tree. There is due process, and an application would have needed to be made. City Parks were most likely contacted, and it was probably an issue of noncompliance more than anything else.”