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76-534: The first trees were planted in 1964 by the Jewish National Fund at the initiative of Yosef Weitz . It is named after the ancient Levite city of Yatir . Over four million trees have been planted, mostly coniferous trees - Aleppo Pine and Cypress , but also many broad leafed trees such as Atlantic terebinth , tamarisk , jujube , carob , olive , fig , eucalyptus and acacia , as well as vineyards and various shrubs. Yatir Forest has changed

152-531: A 49-year lease agreement with the State of Israel which gives it control over 30,000 hectares (300 km ) of Negev land for the development of forests. The JNF has been criticized for planting non-native pine trees which are unsuited to the climate, rather than local species such as olive trees. Others say that JNF deserves credit for this decision, and the forests would not have survived otherwise. According to JNF statistics, six out of every 10 saplings planted at

228-606: A JNF site in Jerusalem do not survive, although the survival rate for planting sites outside Jerusalem is much higher – close to 95 percent. The Israeli newspaper Maariv wrote that workers remove saplings daily to allow more tourists to plant the following day, but the JNF denied this and said it would sue the paper for libel. The Union for Environmental Defense has criticized the fund's forestry practices for "overreliance on highly flammable pine trees" and overuse of toxic herbicides, in

304-455: A blue box labeled "Keren Le'umit" in his office and urged others to do the same. The first mass-produced boxes were distributed in 1904. Kleinman visited Mandate Palestine in the 1930s and planned to make aliyah , but perished in the Holocaust . Menahem Ussishkin wrote that "The coin the child contributes or collects for the redemption of the land is not important in itself; it is not

380-460: A duty to practice equality towards all citizens of the state. On 26 January 2005, Israel's Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ruled that lease restrictions violated Israeli anti-discrimination laws, and that the ILA could not discriminate against Arab citizens of Israel in the marketing and allocation of the lands it managed; this applied both to government lands and to lands belonging to the JNF. However,

456-566: A formal complaint with the Canadian government seeking the revocation of JNF's charitable status on the basis of discrimination. In 2018, JNF Canada informed its members that it was under audit by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The following year, CBC News reported how JNF had used charitable donations to fund Israeli military infrastructure. While Canadians can directly support foreign militaries in their personal capacity,

532-559: A former minister, recommended that a distinction be made between JNF lands and state lands, such that all JNF lands directly acquired via donations from abroad specifically for the benefit of Jews (some 900,000 dunams (900 km )) will pass to the direct control of the JNF; while properties purchased by the JNF from the state in the 1950s and formerly belonging to Palestinian refugees (the so-called "lands of missing persons" or " absentee " lands, amounting to 2,000,000 dunams (2,000 km )) would revert to state control. Rubinstein's intention

608-473: A new provision to the 1960 Israel Land Administration Law , entitled "Management of the Jewish National Fund's Lands"; the provision stated that regardless of other conflicting rulings, leasing JNF lands for Jewish settlement did not constitute discrimination, and: "For the purpose of every law, the association documents of the Jewish National Fund will be interpreted according to the judgment of

684-527: A range of massive land infrastructure development projects. In the 1980s, the JNF launched a project known collectively as "Operation Promised Land", to meet the challenge of the massive upsurge of Jewish immigration from the Soviet Union and Ethiopia . In recent years, the JNF has again moved towards the development of towns to accommodate new Jewish immigrants, focusing on the Galilee and Negev regions,

760-631: A road at the Israeli-Egyptian border to "improve access to the area for security forces" to be developed in coordination with the IDF. A document by JNF's Canadian branch stated that it had helped develop an outdoor fitness area at a military base in Sde Boker for the Gadna program, which prepares young Israelis for IDF service. Regular army personnel could also use the area. Similarly, in 2014,

836-442: A temporary settlement was reached (following the compromise proposed in 2005 by Menachem Mazuz) wherein, although the JNF would be prevented from discriminating on grounds of ethnicity, nevertheless every time land is sold to a non-Jew, the ILA would compensate it with an equivalent amount of land, thus ensuring the total amount of land owned by Jewish Israelis remains the same. An alternative proposal submitted by Amnon Rubinstein ,

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912-584: Is a cynical and destructive ploy that violates the freedom of spirit, thought and creativity of Israel and I refuse to cooperate with it". In August 2021 the Supreme Court of Israel unanimously overturned a decision in June by former Education Minister Yoav Gallant to overrule the award of the Israel Prize in mathematics and computer science to Oded Goldreich because of Goldreich's stated views on

988-666: Is a non-profit organization founded in 1901 to buy land and encourage Jewish resettlement in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine , subsequently Israel and the Palestinian territories ) for Jewish settlement. By 2007, it owned 13% of the total land in Israel. Since its inception, the JNF has planted over 240 million trees in Israel. It has also built 180 dams and reservoirs, developed 250,000 acres (1,000 km ) of land and established more than 1,000 parks. In 2002,

1064-575: Is composed of hard lime rocks, and soft chalk rocks. The Israel National Trail , marked in 1991 runs through the forest. Yatir forest is located on the trail south of Meitar and north of Arad . Yatir forest is the largest forest ever planted by the JNF, covering 30,000 dunums with over 4 million trees. Studies conducted in Yatir forest under the direction of Prof. Dan Yakir of the Weizmann Institute of Science , in collaboration with

1140-520: Is not the trustee of the general public in Israel. Its loyalty is given to the Jewish people in the Diaspora and in the state of Israel... The JNF, in relation to being an owner of land, is not a public body that works for the benefit of all citizens of the state. The loyalty of the JNF is given to the Jewish people and only to them is the JNF obligated. The JNF, as the owner of the JNF land, does not have

1216-644: The Bedouin town of Hura . The farm is based on permaculture principles, and grows vegetables, fruits, olives and medical herbs. Medical tinctures and essential oils are produced from the herbs and wild plants harvested in the desert, in cooperation with Negev Bedouins . 31°20′33″N 35°3′42″E  /  31.34250°N 35.06167°E  / 31.34250; 35.06167 Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund ( JNF ; Hebrew : קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , Keren Kayemet LeYisrael ; previously הפאנד הלאומי ‎, Ha Fund HaLeumi )

1292-566: The Desert Research Institute at Sde Boker , have shown that the trees function as a trap for carbon in the air. Shade provided by trees planted in the desert also reduces evaporation of the sparse rainfall. Yatir forest is also a part of the NASA project FLUXNET , a global network of micrometeorological tower sites used to measure the exchanges of carbon dioxide , water vapor , and energy between terrestrial ecosystems and

1368-514: The Hula Valley . Over fifty years, the JNF planted over 260 million trees largely in semi-arid, rocky, hilly terrain in which cultivation is not cost-effective and the risk of land degradation is high. While the Ministry of Agriculture is the official regulator of Israel's forests, the JNF is responsible for the implementation of forest management and afforestation. In 2006, the JNF signed

1444-607: The Ministry of Defense . The United States branch of the JNF, incorporated on January 26, 1926, is the largest contributor to JNF-KKL. In 1996, JNF-USA was accused of mismanaging funds. According to the charges, only 21% of US donations reached Israel, and money was being diverted to Latin American JNF offices. In the wake of this scandal, the North American management was forced to resign. The tax-exempt status of

1520-715: The Negev , an auditorium and training facilities at an Israeli Navy base in Bat Galim , and mess halls for the 124 Squadron and 131 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force at the Palmachim and Nevatim Airbases . A 2014 document by the JNF notes that funds from its Canadian branch were used for a dozen "KKL for IDF" projects in the previous decade. A JNF Canada document from the same year pitched donors on an IDF family meeting centre for members in active service as well as

1596-666: The Supreme Court entitled Challenging the Prohibition on Arab Citizens of Israel from Living on Jewish National Fund Land . Shortly afterwards, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Arab Center for Alternative Planning also filed a petition to the Supreme Court challenging the ILA policy as discriminatory. The JNF responded to the two petitions on 9 December. In its response, the JNF stated: The JNF

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1672-605: The Supreme Court of Israel in the case of publicist Shmuel Shnitzer, politician Shulamit Aloni , professor Zeev Sternhell and Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club chairman Shimon Mizrahi . In February 2015, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu vetoed the appointment of two members of the selection panel for the Israel Prize in Literature, prompting the other three members, including Ziva Ben-Porat , to resign in protest. Netanyahu explained that "[t]oo often, it seemed that

1748-925: The arts was the Dizengoff prize and in literature the Bialik prize . awarded by the Tel Aviv municipality annually since 1930s. The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day , in a state ceremony in Jerusalem , in the presence of the President , the Prime Minister , the Speaker of the Knesset (Israel's legislature), and the Supreme Court President. The prize

1824-400: The atmosphere . The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies conducts research at Yatir forest that focuses on crops such as dates and grapes grown in the vicinity of Yatir forest. The research is part of a project aimed at introducing new crops into arid and saline zones. The Yatir biological farm is located next to Yatir Forest near the village of Meitar , northeast of Beersheba and

1900-549: The occupied territories . Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit had refused to defend in court Gallant's withholding of the prize, which Mendelblit said "deviated from the range of reasonableness and was not legal." The court's majority opinion ruled that Yifat Shasha-Biton , Gallant's successor as Education Minister, should decide whether to award the prize to Goldreich, while a minority opinion called for Goldreich to receive it without further review. In November 2021, Shasha-Biton announced that she would block Goldreich from receiving

1976-587: The $ 27.2 million in grants by JNF-USA went to support settlements. In 2021, JNF announced that it would change its policy and subsidize Israeli settlements in the West Bank. However, the necessary vote of the board was delayed indefinitely in April after opposition from members and supporters abroad. Israeli lawmakers have sought, unsuccessfully, to allow the State Comptroller to examine the books of

2052-525: The Attorney General also decided that, whenever a non-Jewish citizen wins an ILA tender for a plot of JNF-owned land, the ILA would compensate the JNF with an equal amount of land. This would allow the JNF to maintain its current hold over 2,500,000 dunams (2,500 km ) of land, or 13% of the total land in Israel. As a result of the Mazuz ruling, authorities found themselves facing a conundrum: on

2128-674: The British group was using the KKL name to raise funds "for their own causes which are not associated with KKL." The Israeli JNF-KKL said it would launch a separate fundraising operation in the UK. JNF-UK launched a legal action to stop KKL using the names "JNF" or "Jewish National Fund" in the UK. The two organisations made peace after the Israeli-born businessman Samuel Hayek took over as JNF-UK chairman in 2008. Israeli JNF-KKL ended its dispute with

2204-589: The CRA rules ban tax receipts or tax deductions for such donations by charities. JNF told CBC that it had stopped funding military projects in 2016. In August 2024, the Canadian government announced the removal of JNF Canada's charitable status. The CRA revealed 358 pages of documents explaining its decision, which outlined "repeated and serious non-compliance" with the laws governing charities. Reasons included doubts that JNF Canada carries out its stated charitable purpose, an insufficient paper trail documenting where money

2280-519: The ILA, lending it significant leverage within that state body. After concentrating on the centre and northern part of the young state, the JNF-KKL started supporting Jewish settlements around the Negev border from around 1965. After the Six-Day War in 1967, the JNF-KKL started work in the newly occupied Palestinian territories as well. The JNF charter specifies the reclamation of land for

2356-521: The International Arid Land Consortium, which explores the problems and solutions unique to arid and semiarid regions, working to develop sustainable ecological practices to improve the quality of life among people in the dry areas. The early JNF was active in afforestation and reclamation of land. By 1935, JNF had planted 1.7 million trees over a total area of 1,750 acres (7.08 km²) and drained swamps, like those in

Yatir Forest - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-546: The JNF Canada's Edmonton branch stated that it was funding a family visitation area, a plaza by the barracks, and an intake and release facility at Tze'elim Army Base . In 2016, the JNF also funded a soccer field at Hatzerim Airbase . JNF's Canadian branch also helped construct a hilltop settler outpost, Givat Oz VeGaon, which was deemed illegal by the Israeli government and received at least 18 demolition orders from

2508-630: The JNF almost from its inception at the initiative of Johann Kremenezky. Once found in many Jewish homes, the boxes became one of the most familiar symbols of Zionism. A children's song about the boxes, written by Dr. Yehoshua Frizman, Headmaster of the Real Gymnasium for Girls in Kovno , ran The box is hanging on the wall The blue box Each penny put inside Redeems the land. A bank clerk named Haim Kleinman in Nadvorna , Galicia placed

2584-552: The JNF from the state, thereby allowing it to continue selling land to Jews only. In July 2007, the Israeli Knesset approved the Jewish National Fund Bill , submitted by MK Uri Ariel ( National Union / National Religious Party ), in its preliminary reading; but the bill was later dropped. The bill sought to authorize the JNF practice of refusing to lease land to Arab citizens. The bill called for

2660-561: The JNF has been helping the Palestinian Authority plan public parks and other civic amenities for the Palestinian city of Rawabi , north of Ramallah. The JNF provided the Palestinian Authority with 3,000 tree seedlings for a forested area being developed on the edge of the new city. Israel's fresh water supply is dependent on 50 days a year of seasonal rainfall, while water consumption has doubled since 1960. Towards

2736-526: The JNF was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the State of Israel. The name Keren Kayemet comes from the Mishnah . Tractate Peah (1:1) lists the types of good deeds whose rewards are enjoyed in this world, while the principal merit will be in the world to come: hakeren kayemet lo l'olam haba . The idea of a national land purchasing fund

2812-584: The JNF's activities during the Mandatory period were closely associated with Yossef Weitz , the head of its settlement department. From the beginning, JNF's policy was to lease land long-term rather than sell it. In its charter, the JNF states: "Since the first land purchase in Eretz Israel in the early 1900s for and on behalf of the Jewish People, JNF has served as the Jewish People's trustee of

2888-543: The JNF-UK within weeks of ending a similar dispute with the American JNF-USA On 1 May 2020 a ruling was issued to JNF on a will writing service encouraging elderly to leave money to KKL. District Judge Geddes noted on KKL's "lack of independence from JNF UK" The charitable status of the JNF-UK has come under increasing attack. British prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had been Honorary Patrons of

2964-506: The JNF-UK, like all British prime ministers before them since its inception. David Cameron resigned as Honorary Patron to JNF-UK in 2011. According to a spokesman, Cameron said it was an organisation that was specifically focused around work in one specific country—i.e., Israel. Cameron's decision was interpreted as a snub, in spite of the spokesman's assurances that his decision had "absolutely nothing to do with any anti-Israel campaign". However, campaigners claimed that Cameron's resignation

3040-861: The JNF-USA was challenged in 2011 as violating the public policy of the United States with respect to ethnic and religious discrimination. In July 2017, in response to an investigation by the Jewish Daily Forward , the New York State attorney general's office ordered JNF-USA to rescind two illegal loans totaling more than $ 500,000 the organization had made to its chief executive officer, Russell Robinson, and its chief financial officer, Mitchel Rosenzweig. (New York State forbids charities from lending their officers any money.) JNF-USA argued that Robinson and Rosenzweig were not officers under

3116-610: The Jewish National Fund's founders and from a nationalist-Zionist standpoint." In September 2007, the High Court heard a further Adalah petition seeking cancellation of an ILA policy as well as Article 27 of the Regulations of the Obligations of Tenders , which in concert prevent Arab citizens from participating in bids for JNF-controlled land. The High Court of Justice agreed to delay a ruling by at least four months, and

Yatir Forest - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-504: The Jewish organization Yachad . The pressures led the JNF to delay the eviction. The JNF played a similar role in evicting the Gozlan family in the 1990s. Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( Hebrew : פרס ישראל ; pras israél ) is an award bestowed by the State of Israel , and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in

3268-424: The Jewish people as its primary purpose. During the 1980s, almost 60,000 acres (240 km ) were planted. Over 50,000 acres (200 km ) of crop-land were reclaimed, and hundreds of miles of roads built. Research into the soil and water conservation and the construction of dams and reservoirs took on added importance in the face of water shortages and drought. The JNF's collaborative work involves participation in

3344-554: The Jewish population of the British Mandate of Palestine lived on JNF land. By 1948, the JNF owned 54% of the land held by Jews in the region, or a bit less than 4% of the land in what was then known as the British Mandate of Palestine. By the eve of statehood, the JNF had acquired a total of 936,000 dunams (936 km ; 361 sq mi) of land; another 800,000 dunams (800 km ; 310 sq mi) had been acquired by other Jewish organizations or individuals. Most of

3420-523: The Lower Galilee. In 1909, the JNF played a central role in the founding of Tel Aviv . The establishment of the " Olive Tree Fund " marked the beginning of Diaspora support of afforestation efforts. The JNF collection box or " blue box " (known in Yiddish as a pushke ) has been part of the JNF since its inception, symbolizing the partnership between Israel and the Diaspora. In the period between

3496-711: The Minister of Education. Prize winners are elected by ad-hoc committees, appointed by the minister of education for each category each year. The decisions of the committee must be unanimous. The prize money was NIS 75,000 as of 2008. Prominent winners include Shmuel Yosef Agnon , Martin Buber , Abba Eban , A. B. Yehoshua , Israel Aumann , Golda Meir , Amos Oz , Ephraim Kishon , Naomi Shemer , David Benvenisti , Leah Goldberg (posthumously) and Teddy Kollek , and organizations such as Israel Philharmonic Orchestra , Jewish Agency , Yad Vashem and Jewish National Fund . Though

3572-554: The Sumarin family, the children of the original owner, Musa Sumarin, were declared absentees after his death even though there were other family members living in the home at the time. In 1991, the Israeli government took the step of transferring the property to the JNF subsidiary. A campaign against the JNF's eviction was launched by Rabbis for Human Rights , the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement, and

3648-424: The arid landscape of the northern Negev, despite the pessimism of many experts. It has proven to be a prime ecological instrument, halting the desertification on the heights northeast of Beersheba. The forest is situated at a relatively high altitude (between 400 and 850 metres above sea level ) in a semi-arid region with an average yearly rainfall of 300–350 mm (12–14 in) and low humidity . The ground

3724-574: The child that gives to the Keren Kayemeth, but rather the Fund that gives to the child, a foothold and lofty ideal for all the days of his life." The boxes could take a variety of shapes and sizes. Some were paper made to fold flat like envelopes and able to contain only a small number of coins, some early American boxes were cylindrical, some German boxes were made of tin stamped into the shape of bound books. Israel issued postage stamps bearing

3800-479: The context of minimal government and public scrutiny. Some forests have been planted for security reasons and as a means of demarcating Israeli space. Critics argue that many JNF lands outside the West Bank were illegally confiscated from Palestinian refugees, and that the JNF furthermore should not be involved with lands in the West Bank. Shaul Ephraim Cohen has said trees have been planted to restrict Bedouin herding. Susan Nathan wrote that forests were planted on

3876-617: The end of the 1980s, the JNF undertook several large-scale water conservation projects. Dams and reservoirs were built to capture rainwater run-off which would have otherwise been lost in the Arava Valley, Reshafim in the Beit She'arim Valley and Kedma near Kiryat Gat. An artificial lake was built in Timna Park. The JNF has built 200 reservoirs around the country, and plans to build 30 more reservoirs and water treatment plants over

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3952-506: The extreme panel members were bestowing the prizes on their friends". One of the prize candidates Yigal Schwartz of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev withdrew his nomination and called on other candidates to do the same. Over the next few days, members of the committees for the literary research and film prizes also resigned, leaving only two members of the original 13, and many other candidates withdrew their nominations. David Grossman withdrew his candidature saying that "Netanyahu's move

4028-402: The fund would transfer the land to the ILA, and in exchange would receive the purchase price plus a similar-sized plot in the Negev. In December 2011, Seth Morrison resigned from the board of JNF-USA in protest at the decision by Himnuta, a subsidiary of JNF-KKL, to launch eviction proceedings against the Sumarin family, who lived in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem . In the case of

4104-469: The image of the blue box in 1983, 1991, and 1993 for the JNF's 90th anniversary. T'ruah has expressed concerns that the JNF is not transparent about where their funds go and that the organization may be subsidizing projects in West Bank settlements . The organization's chief executive later acknowledged that JNF does fund projects within settlements. A review of their tax filing from 2014 led Rabbi Jill Jacobs of T'ruah to estimate that about $ 600,000 of

4180-426: The land, initiating and charting development work to enable Jewish settlement from the border in the north to the edge of the desert and Arava in the south." After Israel's establishment in 1948, the government began to sell absentee lands to the JNF. On January 27, 1949, 1,000 km² of land (from a total of about 3,500 km²) was sold to the JNF for the price of IL 11 million. Another 1,000 km² of land

4256-433: The meaning of the law, but the attorney general's officer rejected that argument and the two executives agreed to repay the balance of their loans. In the United Kingdom , the JNF-UK (full name JNF Charitable Trust ) was formed in 1939 and registered as a charitable organization . In October 2005, the JNF-KKL in Israel split from its British partner, accusing JNF-UK of having "misled" the public. The JNF-KKL claimed that

4332-460: The next five years. Over the past decade, JNF has invested over $ 114.99 million in reservoir construction, increasing the country's total storage capacity by 7%, to over 130 million cubic metres (34 × 10 ^  US gal) of water. JNF is also involved in river rehabilitation projects all over Israel, such as the Nahal Alexander Restoration Project begun in 2003. The JNF's engagement in developing Israel for Jewish purposes has involved

4408-432: The one hand the JNF, as a "private" organization, had received donations from outside Israel which were specifically earmarked for the benefit of Jews; on the other hand, the state and the ILA (an agency of the state), which administered the land owned by the JNF, were banned from discriminating against non-Jews. In early 2005, the JNF and the Finance Ministry were reported as trying to draft a new agreement that would separate

4484-402: The organization to determine whether the group's funds were being spent appropriately. The JNF stipulates that only Jews can buy, mortgage or lease JNF land. Article 23 of the JNF lease states that the lessee must pay compensation to the JNF if this stipulation is violated. On 13 October 2004, Adalah , an organization and legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel, submitted a petition to

4560-415: The prize is generally awarded to Israeli citizens only, in exceptional cases it can be awarded to non-Israelis who have held Israeli residency for many years. Zubin Mehta received a special award of the Israel Prize in 1991. Mehta is originally from India and was music advisor and later the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for 50 years until his retirement in 2019. The decision to award

4636-413: The prize to specific individuals has sometimes led to impassioned political debate. In 1993, the opposition of then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to the nomination of Yeshayahu Leibowitz led Leibowitz to decline the prize. In 2004, Education and Culture Minister Limor Livnat , sent the decision to award the prize to the sculptor Yigal Tumarkin back to the prize committee. The decision was brought before

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4712-436: The prize. In 2024, Education Minister, Yoav Kish announced that the traditional Israel Prize will not be awarded in 2024, and - instead - because of the Oct. 7th massacre - there will be a single category of awards, recognizing Civil Heroism and Mutual Responsibility. The decision caused a lot of resistance, especially since it was seen as a way to avoid giving the prize to Eyal Waldman , an Israeli activist whose daughter

4788-443: The prize. In an editorial, the Jerusalem Post wrote that Goldreich's "[c]alling for the boycott of professional colleagues   ... is a red line that shouldn't be crossed". A Haaretz editorial said that Shasha-Biton's decision meant "the most prestigious prize awarded by Israel will not be the mark of scientific excellence but of loyalty to the government". The Supreme Court eventually ruled in Goldreich's favour and he received

4864-420: The project's lack of transparency in light of the potential strain on ecological resources and the possible impacts on Bedouin communities nearby. In addition to its reclamation and other charitable projects, the JNF also funded infrastructure projects on Israel Defense Forces sites. Documents by the JNF indicated that funds from the Canadian branch were used to fund projects including Camp Ariel Sharon in

4940-401: The site of abandoned Arab villages after the 1948 war. Nathan also writes that olive trees were replaced by pine and cypress trees and that JNF afforestation policy erases traces of the Arab presence prior to 1948. In 2008, the JNF announced that historical information plaques erected in JNF parks and forests would cite the names of the Arab villages formerly located there. Since 2009,

5016-417: The two areas of Israel with a tenuous Jewish demographic majority. In particular, the JNF's 600 million dollar Blueprint Negev aims to attract and build infrastructure for 250,000 new settlers in the Negev desert, which accounts for 60% of the country's land mass but remains sparsely populated. The plan has come under scrutiny as groups such as Bustan , Save the Negev, and Ohalah have expressed concern over

5092-405: The two world wars, about one million of these blue and white tin collection boxes could be found in Jewish homes throughout the world. From 1902 until the late 1940s, the JNF sold JNF stamps to raise money. For a brief period in May 1948, JNF stamps were used as postage stamps during the transition from Palestine to Israel. The first parcel of land, 200 dunams (0.20 km ) east of Hadera ,

5168-416: Was "to avoid passing racist legislation [such as the Ariel Bill] that would limit the use of these lands to the Jews". Others denied however that the Ariel Bill was racist. The Rubinstein proposal was not taken up. In late 2007, a land swap deal was proposed that would allow the JNF to continue leasing its lands only to Jews. Urban JNF land sold in future to non-Jews would include an automatic swap mechanism:

5244-428: Was due to political pressure. Since then, the JNF-UK's Honorary Patrons include no leader of the main British political parties. An Early Day Motion in the British parliament called for the revocation of the JNF's charitable status in the UK and was signed by 66 Members of Parliament . In 2012 the Green Party called for the JNF to be stripped of its charity status. In December 2021, JNF-UK Chairman Samuel Hayek

5320-518: Was embroiled in controversy, following remarks that implied that Muslim immigration was endangering the future of British Jews. Following the Six-Day War , the Canadian branch of the JNF raised about $ 15 million US to fund a 1,700-acre park called "Canada Park". The park was built in 1970 on the land of three Palestinian villages which were destroyed on the orders of Yitzhak Rabin . Starting around 2013, Independent Jewish Voices has campaigned against JNF Canada's charitable status, and in 2017 it filed

5396-588: Was established in 1953 at the initiative of the Minister of Education Ben-Zion Dinor , who himself went on to win the prize in 1958 and 1973. The prize is awarded in the following four areas, with the precise subfields changing from year to year in a cycle of 4 to 7 years, except for the last area, which is awarded annually: The recipients of the prize are Israeli citizens or organizations who have displayed excellence in their field(s) or have contributed strongly to Israeli culture . The winners are selected by committees of judges, who pass on their recommendations to

5472-749: Was first presented at the First Zionist Congress in 1897 by Hermann Schapira , a Lithuanian-Jewish professor of mathematics. The fund, named Keren Hakayemet (later known in English as the "Jewish National Fund") was formally established at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel in 1901. In its early years, the organization was headed by the Jewish industrialist Johann Kremenezky . Early land purchases were completed in Judea and

5548-460: Was going, missing records that the CRA did not have, some documents provided only in Hebrew, and housing documents in a foreign country (Israel). In response, JNF Canada has accused the CRA of "targeted bias", while CEO Lance Davis said JNF Canada repeatedly asked for a conversation with the CRA to explain the discrepencies, but was repeatedly denied. JNF's blue charity boxes were distributed by

5624-558: Was received as a gift from the Russian Zionist leader Isaac Leib Goldberg of Vilnius, in 1903. It became an olive grove. In 1904 and 1905, the JNF purchased land plots near the Sea of Galilee and at Ben Shemen . In 1921, JNF land holdings reached 25,000 acres (100 km²), rising to 50,000 acres (200 km²) by 1927. At the end of 1935, JNF held 89,500 acres (362 km²) of land housing 108 Jewish communities. In 1939, 10% of

5700-458: Was sold to the JNF in October 1950. Over the years questions about the legitimacy of these transactions have been raised but Israeli legislation has generally supported the JNF's land claims. In 1953, the JNF was dissolved and re-organized as an Israeli company under the name Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (JNF-KKL). In 1960, administration of the land held by the JNF-KKL, apart from forested areas,

5776-480: Was transferred to a newly formed government agency, the Israel Land Administration (ILA). The ILA was then responsible for managing some 93% of the land of Israel. All the land managed by the ILA was defined as Israel lands ; it included both land owned by the government (about 80%) and land owned by the JNF-KKL (about 13%). The JNF-KKL received the right to nominate 10 of the 22 directors of

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