The first day of discussions at the annual KKL-JNF European Leadership Conference (ELC) began by marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on January 27 each year. Afterwards, a discussion took place on KKL-JNF’s activities in a changing reality over the past 115 years, during which KKL-JNF constantly adapted its work to the needs of the people, the state and the world.
Moshe Perl, Acting Executive Director of the Resources, Development and Public Relations Division, opened discussions by welcoming the participants. He highlighted the fact that the conference was opening on International Holocaust Remembrance Day – the day Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army.
Perl said that “although the conference is not about this important date, we will never forget the day that symbolizes the transition from the Holocaust to the Rebirth. I am proud to be here as a representative of KKL-JNF, an organization that has contributed towards the establishment of the state of Israel, and the largest organization today that is dedicated to developing the country and to the welfare of its inhabitants.”
Dr. Robert Zbili, the President of KKL France, which is hosting this year's KKL-JNF European Leadership Conference, remarked that “today we are facing a new challenge, a new type of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism has changed its face and mutated into ‘anti-Zionism’. Today, we must fight for Zionism.”
Zbili added that at KKL-JNF, “we try to raise funds for new projects for the state of Israel, and keeping Zionism going is very important today. KKL-JNF provides a multi-faceted comprehensive framework within Jewish communities, and connects between the people and its land.”
Zbili described KKL-JNF’s extensive activities over the years, from the purchase of lands, creating infrastructure for roads, communities and fields, combating desertification and creating a green country. He expressed hope that all the KKL-JNF offices in Europe will join forces in order to achieve KKL-JNF’s common goals.
“I am the president of the KKL France organization and also the president of the French Jewish communities. There are currently 600,000 Jews in France. If we will be united, we will represent common goals, and together we will fight against anti-Zionism and BDS,” Zbili added.
Dr. Zbili also expounded on the topic of Zionist Jewish education and emphasized the need go into the Jewish schools and provide them with suitable activities to strengthen the common bond between Jewish communities all over the world. This would be achieved by a collaborative effort between KKL-JNF offices in all the European countries, thanks to a special committee that would be established for realizing this goal.
Ze’ev Neuman, KKL-JNF Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Resource Development Committee, noted that the European Leadership Conference is extremely important, since it enables KKL-JNF representatives from all over Europe to meet. He gave a special greeting to the representatives from Spain and Euro-Asia, who are participating in the conference for the first time.
Neuman emphasized that as vice chairman, “I feel obligated to deepen the connection between the KKL-JNF offices in Israel and abroad. A third of our offices are in Europe, and they raise a third of our contributions. To a great degree, this is thanks to your hard work, together with the bureau directors and the emissaries. I would like to convey my thanks to all our dear donors. I wish I could thank each and every one of them personally.”
Neuman expanded on KKL-JNF’s work over the 115 years of its existence. “We purchased lands and we developed the country. Now we are beginning new and profound discussions to become familiar with and to learn your work plans. We will set out on a common path and together, we will achieve our goals.”
At the conclusion of his remarks, Neuman thanked Robert Zbili and the dedicated team at the Resources, Development and Public Relations Division headed by Perl, who come to work with a "smile on their faces".
“Together we will help Israel march forward,” Neuman concluded.
Moshe Perl introduced KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar and spoke about his professional background in brief: Danny Atar was born in 1958 and grew up in northern Israel. He was a regiment commander in the Golani Brigade, and was discharged from the IDF as a lieutenant colonel. Over the past two decades he served as the mayor of the Gilboa Regional Council, and promoted coexistence in the region along with economic welfare for all its residents. During his tenure, the population in the Gilboa doubled.
KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar began by saying that he was very much moved to be at his first conference since he was elected to the position of chairman, and that he hoped that the conference would take place every year – "once in Jerusalem and once in Europe".
Atar said that he agreed with Dr. Zbili and noted that there was a need to act within one framework, with each country preserving its own unique characteristics. “At the end of the day, we want to leave the conference, not with a feeling that there were speeches that told us what to do, but rather that we created a common dialogue, to which we all contribute in order to accomplish KKL-JNF’s very intensive work.”
Commenting on KKL-JNF’s 115 years of activity, Atar said that “everyone knows that Israel would be a lesser country if not for KKL-JNF. We are all partners in our incessant activities over the past 115 years, from the redemption of the land, to water solutions and looking after the land of Israel."
Atar added that KKL-JNF is dealing with many challenges, including people who question the need for its existence. In this context, he told the story of KKL-JNF’s establishment at the Fifth Zionist Congress in 1901, where there was also opposition, but KKL-JNF was nevertheless established, thanks to the influence of Theodor Herzl and Tzvi Hermann Shapira. Now, just as then, KKL-JNF will contend with the difficulties.
“The reality is that KKL-JNF is in every corner of Israel. We are here to continue the activities of those who lead and carried this torch forward,” Atar declared.
Atar once again emphasized the importance of transparency in KKL-JNF and noted that the organization’s leaders will work according to the strictest standards and in good faith, “because we are managing public funds. Including the general public by means of transparency – that is partnership, like a building with transparent glass walls, because this is an organization that belongs to everyone.”
In order to emphasize KKL-JNF’s situation at the present time, Atar told the audience:
“In military training, you fire missiles at the target that you want to conquer. This is an important moment, because you want to hit your mark with the missile, so that the soldiers who will get up and charge the target will not be hurt. When the missile strikes, there’s a lot of dust and smoke and you can’t see anything. And then the dust settles and you see everything that’s happening. Sometimes that’s how I feel – as if someone fired a missile, there’s dust, you can’t see well, people don’t see all the good things that KKL-JNF has done, and they’re trying to hide the good – that thanks to the Jewish people and our amazing friends in every corner of the world, we were able to build this country. Our job during our watch is to remove the dust and make the picture clear. I truly believe that we have the strength to do so.”
In conclusion, the KKL-JNF chairman thanked Dr. Robert Zbilli for hosting the conference. “You have successfully instilled a sense of common destiny and shared responsibility in us all.” In thanking Moshe Perl, the Acting Executive Director of the Resources, Development and Public Relations Division, the chairman noted that Perl has "brought a spirit of renewal to this part of the world. Together with Ze’ev Neumann, the chairman of the committee, we are being led in the right direction.”
Atar also thanked Shlomo Deri, his Co-Chairman, who also serves as chairman of the Israel and Diaspora education committee, “a subject that needs a profound and serious reevaluation.”
“Together, all of us will lead the strongest, the most influential and most significant organization of the Jewish people. We will leave here in a few days as friends and family who have coordinated their goals for the next few years,” Atar concluded.
Read this article in French