The Jewish National Fund, commonly abbreviated to JNF, is a non-profit organization that aims to give current and future generations of Jews the ability to build a better Israel. The JNF was started in 1901 with the vision to create a land that Jewish people from all over the world could return to one day and live out their days in peace and beauty.
JNF Reclamation Projects?
The JNF has reclaimed a lot of land for its people. In the 1980s, they planted almost 60,000 acres, reclaimed around 50,000 acres of pastoral lands, and reclaimed a few hundred miles of roads that had been built.
There were drought and water shortages, so they did a lot of research about water and soil conservation as well as how to construct dams.
The JNF were all about afforestation and they had planted 1.7 million trees by 1935. In their first 50 years of existence, they had planted more than 260 million trees in areas where land degradation is a problem.
There has always been issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but the JNF, since 2009, have been helping Palestinian authorities create public parks for their people. In fact, the JNF have provided over 3,00 saplings for this purpose.
There are on average 50 days of rainfall each year in Israel, and the country relies on this for their fresh water supply. In the late 1980s, they carried out some large water conservations projects. For example, they built reservoirs and dams to capture rainwater that would otherwise have been lost. They also built a man-made lake in Timna Park.
There are now 200 reservoirs in Israel, and there should be 30 more within the next five years. The JNF have spent around $115 million to construct these reservoirs, but it is money well spent as their water storage capacity has increased by 7%.
Since the 1980s, a lot of Jewish people have been moving back to Israel, so the JNF came up with a project, known as “Operation Promised Land”, that would create new towns to accommodate those who were returning to their country. For example, they want to build a new Jewish settlement in the Negev Desert that is capable of supporting 250,000 people. It is believed that this project will cost around $600 million.
This is How You Can Help
The JNF believe in the prosperity and endurance of Israel, the rejuvenation and defense of soil that is rightfully ours, the enrichment of our deserts, and the security of every single one of our people. Our mission is to create a better tomorrow.
You can donate to our cause and, when you do, you will become an important part of our future. Every dollar that we receive will be put where it is needed the most and will not go to waste. You will receive updates as to what your hard-earned money has been put towards.
Furthermore, if you so wish, you can choose where your donations will be spent. For example, you can choose whether your money goes towards afforestation, promoting education, providing trucks and safety gear for firefighters, constructing playgrounds, day care centers, and synagogues, promoting tourism and so on.