"Making the Negev green was the vision of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, but it had already been expressed by the prophet Isaiah. "I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. I will plant the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle and the olive tree in the wilderness"." Efi Stenzler, KKL-JNF World Chairman, was speaking on Thursday, 21st May, at the dedication of the Mandel Scenic Lookout near Lahav Forest in the northern Negev.
... for the entire article in the Jerusalem Post press here