KKL-JNF House to Be Established in Ofakim
By Tami Maor, April 22, 2018
KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar was named an Honored Citizen of Ofakim at the conclusion of Israel Independence Day. “The Honored Citizen Award is given to KKL-JNF for establishing focal points of settlement in the Negev, among them Ofakim; for your contribution to community development, a green environment, and preserving ongoing contact with Diaspora Jewry,” the citation read in part.
The Ofakim municipality gave its Honored Citizen award to KKL-JNF officials at the conclusion of Independence Day last Thursday. Honored Citizen Awards Committee Chairman and Ofakim municipal council committee member Itzik Krispel, was responsible for the choice of candidates. This year, municipality officials decided to give the Honored Citizen award to KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar in the name of KKL-JNF.
The citation read, in part: “The Honored Citizen Award is given to KKL-JNF for establishing focal points of settlement in the Negev, among them Ofakim; for your contribution to community development, a green environment, and preserving ongoing contact with Diaspora Jewry.” The award was presented by Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis and the mayor of Ofakim, Itzik Danino.
In his acceptance speech, Daniel Atar announced the establishment of a new KKL-JNF House in Ofakim in the next several years. “I am glad to announce to you, the residents of Ofakim, that a new KKL-JNF House is coming to the city to be a meeting place for young people. KKL-JNF House will offer cultural events, leisure activities, and, of course, assistance in studies and informal education for young people in Ofakim. It will be the first KKL-JNF House to be built in the Negev and the second to be built in the southern region.”
Later on, Atar expressed his gratitude for having received the award and told a little bit about KKL-JNF’s activities in the area. “One of the major goals that KKL-JNF has set itself over the past two years is to bring approximately one million new residents to the Negev. Here, too, in the city of Ofakim and its environs, we continue to operate on several planes — from developing the forests, parks, and recreation areas that will serve the residents of the city and the region as places to have fun and spend leisure time to supporting festivals and events all year round in order to show the beauty of the Negev and attract as many tourists as possible.”
Itzik Danino, the mayor of Ofakim, said in his welcoming remarks: “It is with great pleasure and great respect that we were pleased to give KKL-JNF, under the leadership of Danny Atar, the Honored Citizen Award for the city of Ofakim. At this time, KKL-JNF is devoting resources to education, a sphere that it sees as the most vital component of Israel’s resilience, and is fulfilling its vision in Ofakim by building KKL-JNF House, a unique and wonderful educational project that has the power to make a significant change in the local educational system at an investment of millions of shekels per year, for working directly with our high-school pupils.”
Read about KKL-JNF House in Kiryat Malachi