What's Behind the Jewish National Fund?

The AJDS today (03/11/14) launched a campaign website titled ‘What’s behind the Jewish National Fund?’ criticising the Jewish National Fund for its role in taking land from Palestinians and Bedouins in Israel.
The Jewish National Fund is a central and unquestioned feature of the Jewish community. Donation boxes from the JNF are present in nearly all Jewish shops, schools, synagogues and other institutions.  Jem Light, of the AJDS executive, said ‘Many Jews give to the Jewish National Fund without having enough  information about their activities. We are aiming to expose some of the more unsavoury and discriminatory policies of the JNF. Once people find out, I’m sure they will seriously reconsider their donations’.
The website provocatively says: ‘The JNF promotes itself as a green charity, fundraising in Jewish communities around the world to support tree planting, and other environmental initiatives in Israel. But what is the JNF really doing with your money?’
Amongst the website’s allegations are claims that the JNF is institutionally discriminatory, is active in the displacement of Bedouins from their homes in the Negev, funds infrastructure for illegal settlement construction and plants trees in an environmentally destructive manner.
For more information please see the website: www.whatsbehindjnf.org
 
 
For further comment please contact:
AJDS Community Organiser, Max Kaiser at [email protected] or 0423234069