Answer to Jewish National Fund.

by Steven Shamrak

The following is my for clarification of a following statement I made two weeks ago: “Over 100,000 Arabs Live Illegally on Jewish-Owned Land in Jerusalem and Israeli government and JNF do nothing about it!” It was requested by Isaac Blachor, a Vice President of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in the US, who insisted that I apologised or clarify my statement.

Dear Steven, I am Isaac Blachor and I am the Vice President of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in the US. My title is VP for Israel Relations. Your statement in a recent web posting seemed to indicate that JNF was doing nothing about Arab squatters living on JNF land... JNF purchased hundreds of individual parcels of land in and around Jerusalem, during the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's etc. In 1948, on one of these parcels that was under the control of Jordan, the UN built the Kalandia refugee camp. The UN took this land without permission from the owner, JNF... After 1968, when Israel was able to assert control over this parcel... when JNF brought the matter to the Israeli government, it was told that this was a political matter and the government would not act on the complaint of JNF... JNF is powerless in this situation, although it does file an annual document, which continues to assert its rights over this land, although the net effect is that there is no change in the status quo. As for illegal building on this parcel, again, it is up to the government to assert its authority, and JNF cannot answer for the actions or lack of action on behalf of the government. So, for you to say that JNF does nothing, is not accurate. For you to indicate that JNF is not concerned or that it does not wish to act, is simply not true. JNF can only go to the courts in Israel for redress and the courts have constantly refused to grant its petition. I would respectfully suggest that you print a correction about your statement.

Answer: Dear Mr. Blachor, I appreciate the importance of the projects the JNF has been involved in Israel and I admire the dedication of volunteers who collect donations toward these projects. But our goal is much bigger than just collection funds or planting trees in Israel. The comment in question was short but heavily loaded with many ideas. Mainly, it was about apathy that the Israeli governments and the JNF, as well as other Jewish organizations, which are still calling themselves Zionist ones, have developed toward the original Jewish goal – the creation of Eretz-Israel, the Land of Israel.

The Jewish National Fund was created in 1901 as a political and financial organization in order to help Jewish people to realise their Zionist dream, the Jewish National homeland! That is the reason why for over the century Jews all over the world have been making their donations to the JNF.

How many of the JNF donors or general population know about the fact that the UN illegally used Jewish land and the Israeli government have been doing nothing to free it from Arab occupation? How many Zionist group or organizations, those that are still on the front line of battle for Eretz-Israel in spite of a hostile attitude and actions from successive Israeli governments, have been receiving support from your organization, financial or moral? The JNF is Zionist organization and it must return to its original purpose and provide true Zionist leadership!

We hear a lot about Syrian demands for the return of the Golan Heights. Have the JNF made any effort to inform the public, Jews and others, about the land it owns in the area, Syria and other neighbouring countries? Has the JNF made any public protest about recent suggestions of the swap of the land owned by your organization on behalf of Jewish people in order to accommodate the creation of an Arab terrorist entity on Jewish land – Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem, where your organization holds the ownership of many parcels of land?

Jews have always been pressed by anti-Semitic international hypocrisy. It is only when we took matters into our own hands and with determination pursued our dreams that our goals were realized! Unfortunately, the Israeli government, due to various political reasons, is unable to fight the political pressure and the Media war that is waged against Israel. This has put the Zionist NGOs like the JNF and other Jewish organizations into the perfect position to actively, vigorously and proudly promote the right of Jewish people to live in peace on all the land of our ancestors. Why don’t they?

The main questions that must be asked are: How and why has the JNF transformed itself from the champion of the Zionist dream of Jewish people into a quiet appeaser and a cash cow of the inept political leadership in Israel and the Diaspora and what can be done to reverse this? It is too early to become complacent - the original goal of Zionism has not been completed yet!