The JNF Land is JEWISH--Its time to shift Donations from the ADL to the JNF

When many of us were growing up we thought all Piskes (charity boxes) were were light blue with a white map of Israel on them it was certainly the one we had at my home growing up --and the one that we had in all my Hebrew school classes. If fact its a recent revelation in my life that there wasn't some sort of Halachic ruling that all piskes had to look like the JNF box.

I have been known to Joke about "planting a tree in Israel" but it is truly amazing how you can tell how Jewish lands end and Arab lands begin. Just look for the tree line--in many places in Israel..the end of the trees planted by the JNF on JNF owned land is also the boarder of Israel. For over 100 years the Jewish national fund has been purchasing and beautifying the land.

It was the fourth day of the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1901. The delegates had spent the day debating a proposal for the establishment of a national fund to purchase land in Palestine. At the time, the proposal had been received enthusiastically, though three congresses had passed without any practical decision being taken. At times it seemed that the dream of a Jewish state was destined to remain just that—only a dream. But Theodor Herzl was unwavering—it was time to take action, and he was determined that before the Congress came to an end, a national fund would be established. The congress resolved that “the fund shall be the property of the Jewish people as a whole,” and announced its first undertaking: the collection of £200,000. By the time Israel became a state in 1948, JNF owned 13% of all the land of Israel (on which 80% of Israel’s population now lives). JNF

In short that land is owned by the Jewish People for use by the Jewish People. Yet those in our community want to change that..like the Reform movement who in their tradition have little stake in Israel's rebirth and Abe Foxman who had the guts to say the JNF policy was wrong but has kept his mouth shut about all of his Liberal Democratic friends appearing at the Daily Kos' annual hate fest.

That JNF land is not Israeli land--it is Jewish land, the JNF has signed an agreement to allow Israel to operate it as long as it stays Jewish land. Mr. Foxman, whether you like it or not it is not Israel's choice what to do with that land, nor is it the ADL's. It is the collective choice of those people who put pennies and quarters in those little blue boxes for over 100 years. We donated that money to purchase and maintain land in Israel FOR JEWS ONLY. Just like we donated money to the ADL to protect against Anti-semitism something you tend to forget about when your liberal friends support anti-semitic websites like the Daily Kos. I think its time for supporters of Jewish causes to evaluate which organizations' actions are true to their charters and shift some dollars from the ADL to the JNF.

From America: The JNF vs. politically correct Zionism

Jonathan Tobin, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 5, 2007

For more than 100 years, that little blue box has been a mainstay of Jewish life. The coins that accumulated in the Jewish National Fund's trademark pushkas helped purchase land that became the bridgehead for the Jewish state envisioned by Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism.

In the nearly 60 years since Israel's founding, the fund has continued to serve, along with the Israel Land Authority, as the custodian of a large portion of the country. JNF also continues to support vital infrastructure projects, such as preserving the nation's scarce water sources, and of course, planting trees in its forests.

But the organization has run into trouble lately - not because of any misdeeds on its part, but because it has stuck to its Zionist mission.

The problem is that its policy of settling only Jews on the land it owns is seen by some in Israel, as well many in the Diaspora, as discriminating against the Arab minority.

In 2005, Israel's Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz ruled that restricting land leases to only Jews was illegal. JNF has responded that it accommodates Arabs who want land by arranging land swaps that allow it to maintain its tradition while giving any would-be buyer the property they want; its critics say that isn't enough.

The Knesset has responded to this challenge by considering a special law that would let the JNF policy stand. But the progress of this bill toward passage has set off even louder cries of protest.

Luminaries across the Jewish spectrum, including the heads of both the Reform movement and the Anti-Defamation League, agree that the "Jews-only" policy must be scrapped.

These critics say that not only is it wrong for Israel to treat Jews and Arabs differently when it comes to land, they argue that the policy is poison for the state's image. With Israel-bashers around the world maliciously promoting the false charge that it's an "apartheid" state, now is no time for reaffirming the old model of settling only Jews on the land, insist foes of the policy. This point, especially, resonates with friends of Israel who are concerned over how such canards have worked their way from the margins of academia to more mainstream forums in recent years.

BUT THOUGH I share these concerns for Israel's image, as well as respect the rights of its non-Jewish minorities, I cannot join the chorus of opposition.

It's easy to view the JNF policy and the law being considered to uphold it solely through the prism of the American legal tradition. Everyone here ought to be, at least in principle, equal before the law.

Covenants that prohibit land sales to any group are rightly considered abhorrent. In the last century, such bias was freely applied against both Jews and African-Americans.

But it is simply wrong to think of the JNF case in that same light.

The land in question here is not mere real estate. JNF's property is the inheritance of the entire Jewish people; its mission is the task of building homes for a nation that has no other haven.

Israel is, after all, not just another country. It is the world's only Jewish state. Like the Law of Return that enables Diaspora Jews - and not anyone else - to come home to their ancestral homeland and obtain citizenship, the JNF rules are specifically crafted to solve the historic problem of Jewish homelessness, not the arbitration of abstract real estate disputes or the whims of home buyers who have a multitude of other options.

Those who would scrap JNF's policies or force it to end its role as the custodian of our historic legacy may have good intentions and be focused on effective advocacy. But this is not the time for a politically correct course that effectively abandons the notion that certain Israeli land belongs to the Jewish people. Nor should we allow our fears of being seen as parochial allow us to buy into the notion that the State of Israel belongs solely to all of its current citizens, rather than being a trust for the Jewish people.

As much as it is appropriate for Diaspora Jews to defer to the Israelis who serve in its armed services and pay their country's confiscatory tax rates on most issues, this basic issue is one on which world Jewry's concerns deserve respect.

At times, Israel must walk a fine line in maintaining its status as a democracy, while also being faithful to its mission in the fulfillment of Zionism. Non-Jews living in Israel may chafe against this situation, but as much as we may wish them no harm and support their rights before the law, that cannot give them the right abrogate the basics of Israel's Zionist purpose.

The question here is the legitimacy of Zionism, not discrimination. As difficult as it may be for high-minded friends of Israel to accept, JNF's policies on the land should stand.