Members of the JNF USA Board of Directors, who are presently visiting Israel, met with KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar and with senior KKL-JNF officials, to make each other’s acquaintance and to discuss strengthening ties and deepening cooperation between the two organizations.
“We see the partnership between KKL-JNF in Israel and JNF USA as an integral part of our success,” Atar said. “We have built an open and authentic relationship that is based on strong foundations. We will continue to deepen ties between the two organizations along with cooperation between us.”
About forty Board of Director members from the United States arrived in Israel for a week of touring throughout Israel from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat, meetings with partners, and getting a firsthand look at projects supported by JNF USA.
“Today we are showing that two separate organizations can work together, with one heart, for the common goals of the Jewish people,” said JNF USA CEO Russell Robinson.
The meeting took place at the KKL-JNF Headquarters in Jerusalem, where decisions regarding KKL-JNF activities are made - decisions that affect Israel’s national and international goals. KKL-JNF senior officials participating in the meeting included Alex Hefetz, KKL-JNF Acting Director General; Yaron Ohion, Director of the KKL-JNF Land Development Authority, and Nadav Asael, KKL-JNF legal consultant.
“KKL-JNF has been in the eye of a public storm over the past few years, to the point where there were those who called for the organization’s disbanding,” Atar said. “We are working very hard to bring KKL-JNF back to the center of the map, and we are having dramatic success in achieving this goal. All our work is done with the utmost diligence regarding good governance and transparency, in accordance with the highest public and legal standards of the state of Israel. KKL-JNF is the arm of the Jewish people, which is why we must protect our independence and work to expand and deepen our cooperation with our friends worldwide.”
Robert Wigoda, Vice President of JNF USA's Legal Committee, introduced the members of the JNF USA Board of Directors at the beginning of the meeting. “The representatives invest their money and time in JNF USA and in strengthening ties with the state of Israel. We are not only carrying out projects, we are promoting a vision,” he said.
In answer to a question, Atar noted that KKL-JNF had set a goal of increasing the population in the Galilee by a half a million inhabitants, and increasing the population of the Negev by a million inhabitants. “We share a common goal,” Atar emphasized, “which is the constant effort to improve the quality of life of Israel’s citizens, strengthen the Negev and the Galilee, and deepen Zionist education in the Diaspora. All our work is directed towards achieving these goals.”
During their visit, members of the JNF USA Board of Directors were treated to a tour of the Books of Honor hall, the home of the golden books that honor KKL-JNF donors, whose support made land redemption and development of the country over the past 115 years possible.
Efrat Benvenisti, who is in charge of the Books of Honor, explained that the book bindings are works of art that depict central events in the history of the people of Israel. Many of the members of the JNF Board of Directors and their families are inscribed in the Books of Honor, and a number of them read the dedications in the books with great emotion.
Liat Itzhak-Herzog, Director of the KKL-JNF American Desk, showed the guests the Blue Box exhibition and said: “These Blue Boxes came from various places, and are made from a variety of materials, but they all represent one vision and one hope.”
These were apt words for everyone participating in this monumental meeting – all the participants hail from different places and different backgrounds, yet they all work together to achieve a common goal and to realize a common dream.
Over the next few days, the members of the JNF USA Board of Directors will continue touring Israel, as part of their ongoing activities for the state of Israel and the Jewish people.