Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Dear Friends,
The truth about Jewish National Fund perfidy can no longer be hidden. Disloyal Jews and disloyal Israeli leaders have sold our Jewish Birthright!
Please review the following articles carefully. You will be appalled by the betrayal of Israel by Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, who were apparently influenced by radical leftist ideology and self-interest. No price or human sacrifice was too high for them to achieve an illusionary peace with the Arab enemy, including wholesale abandonment of Jewish Biblical Land.
*ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED? by Ruth Matar, October 26, 2006 (the October 18, 2006 article by Helen Freedman: ARABS GRABBING JNF LANDS IN JERUSALEM, is included.)
*ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED? (continued) by Ruth Matar, November 2, 2006
*JNF NOT DENYING IT FORFEITED LAND TO ARABS by Gil Ronen, Arutz Sheva, April 17, 2007
* * * *
ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED?
by Ruth Matar, October 26, 2006
Dear Friends,
The Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth Leisrael) is the land purchase and development fund of the Zionist Organization. The JNF is a one hundred and three year-old international environmental organization with more than fifty offices around the globe.
It was founded in December 1901, at the Fifth Zionist Congress at Basle, which resolved: “The JNF shall be the eternal possession of the Jewish People. Its funds shall not be used except for the purchase of lands in Palestine and Syria.” The idea of public ownership of land is based on the Biblical injunction “The Land shall not be sold forever, for the Land is Mine.” (Leviticus 25:23). The JNF protocol specifically prohibits selling land ownership and selling any rights to non-Jews.
It was tradition in many Jewish homes to have a Blue Box, a small tin collection box, in a prominent place. I remember, as a child, my parents encouraging me to put part of my small allowance into this Blue Box to help to purchase land, to plant trees there and to generally build up the Promised Land.
Jews all over the world donate millions of dollars to the Jewish National Fund (JNF). We learn from an article by Helen Freedman, posted on October 18, 2006, that in Jerusalem important strategic portions of that land ends up in Arab hands.
I am reproducing her article in its entirety.
ARABS GRABBING JNF LAND IN JERUSALEM
By Helen Freedman
Generous Jews donated many millions of dollars to the Jewish National Fund/JNF for the purchase of land. What they may not know is that in Jerusalem, a portion of that land ends up in Arab hands. These are some of the very same Arabs that celebrate Israel’s defeats and Arab suicide bombings, and refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Documented facts, supplied by Aryeh King, resident of East Jerusalem, were submitted to Avinoam Binder, Chief Israel Representative for Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, the Hebrew version of JNF, at his New York office.
Mr. Binder confirmed that large scale give-away of JNF lands to Arabs has been occurring through government decisions, and the failure of JNF to oppose those decisions. Four plots, which make up 772 dunams (approximately 193 acres) near Bethlehem, which had been purchased by JNF, are now unavailable to Jews. Mr. Binder explains that the military status of the area makes this problematic.
In north Jerusalem, the JNF owns an area that is known as Shoafat. Arieh King tells us that the plots were registered as belonging to the State, but they really belong to JNF and were purchased by JNF. Today, the area is the site of hundreds of buildings occupied by Arabs whose Orange ID’s theoretically keep them from entering Jerusalem, however, they live inside Jerusalem. The JNF does nothing to remove the Arab squatters from the land. There is also a “refugee” camp on the site, housing about 10,000 persons. When asked why they are not removed, Avinoam Binder replied,”How could so many be removed and relocated?” I pointed out to him that the government had no problem removing 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gush Katif and setting them down wherever they might land. He smiled at the impossibility of the thought that Israel would try to do the same thing to Arabs. He agreed that scant attention is paid to the Jewish Gush Katif refugees.
In northern Jerusalem, near the Atarot airport, to which Jews dare not travel today, there are thousands of dunams (calculate approx. 4 per acre) that are owned by the JNF. This land exists between the airport, in the top of the finger of Jerusalem, and the borders of the Jerusalem municipality. Avinoam Binder shrugs his shoulders helplessly when questioned as to why this land is being sold to Arabs.
The ghastly wall that scars its way through Jerusalem is also leaving huge tracts of JNF land on the “Arab” side. Once again, JNF looks at this as a decision by the government of Israel, and one they refuse to appeal.
JNF donors, who were under the impression they were reclaiming holy Jewish land through their generosity, will be dismayed to learn that NO land was purchased by JNF in Jewish east Jerusalem in the past twenty years. And with the above information as evidence, land that was purchased for Jewish use has been released into Arab hands.
JNF donors should be outraged by this situation. Questions should be asked whether similar situations are occurring throughout Israel. Is JNF land in the Galilee and the Negev falling into Arab hands? If you are a donor operating on the premise that JNF money is going into Jewish projects protected by that organization, you should immediately request an accounting.
Write to Avinoam Binder at Jewish National Fund, 42 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021; abinder@jnf.org; www.jnf.org to register your protest. RESOLVE NOT TO GIVE ANY MORE MONEY TO JNF UNLESS THERE CAN BE A GUARANTEE THAT ARABS WILL NOT PROFIT FROM YOUR GIFT. SEND THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO STATIONS. TAKE PART IN ALERTING GENEROUS JEWS TO THE DECEPTION PERPETRATED UPON THEM. Contact Arieh King in Jerusalem for more details – kingshir@bezeqint.net – 011-972-54-550-1182.
* * * *
Dear Friends, who made this Arab land-grab possible? There is evidence that points to the conclusion that Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert are responsible.
The Israel Land Administration (ILA) is the official government agency responsible for managing the land of Israel. (By the way, half the land used by Israeli Arab farmers is directly leased to them by the ILA).
During the premiership of Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert was Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor. On May 2, 2004, Olmert appointed the GADISH COMMITTEE to investigate essential ‘reforms’ to the ILA. There is no doubt that Sharon endorsed Olmert’s appointment of this committee. Why did Sharon and Olmert find it necessary to reform the Israel Land Administration?
ONE OF THE MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE GADISH COMMITTEE WAS THE EXCHANGE OF LANDS BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE JNF, ACCORDING TO WHICH THE JNF WOULD CONCEDE LANDS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF ISRAEL TO THE STATE, IN EXCHANGE FOR LANDS IN THE ‘NATIONAL PRIORITY AREAS’, SUCH AS THE GALILEE AND THE NEGEV.
Now it becomes clear to us that large scale give-away of JNF land in Jerusalem to Arabs has been occurring through government decisions, specifically inspired by the partnership of Sharon and Olmert. Unfortunately, the Jewish National Fund has not appealed these decisions, thereby failing to carry out the intentions of their contributors, that Jewish land be bought only for the Jewish People.
We have now arrived at an incredible situation where an Arab has been appointed to the board of directors of the Jewish National Fund (Haaretz News, July 14, 2006). The JNF board approved the appointment of Raadi Safuri, an Arab from the village of Kfar Kana. Safuri was Meretz chair Yossi Beilin’s candidate and had the backing of Yeheil Leket of the Labor Party.
World Likud Chairman, Danny Danon, called Safuri’s appointment “a disgrace to the Zionist movement”, and said that the “Jewish National Fund’s purpose is to redeem lands from Arab hands, not to appoint Arabs to its institutions”.
It is imperative that all of us who love Israel show our outrage at the perfidy of the Olmert government, which transfers ownership to Arabs of land purchased by contributions to the Jewish National Fund. Don’t fail to follow the suggestion of Helen Freedman in the last paragraph of her article. Alert donors to the Jewish National Fund to the deception perpetrated upon them!
* * * *
ARE DONORS TO THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND DECEIVED? (Continued)
by Ruth Matar November 2, 2006
Dear Friends,
Last week’s Letter from Jerusalem, entitled “Are Donors to the Jewish National Fund Deceived?”, was written with a heavy heart. Heaven forbid, I do not want you to think that I accuse the current leaders of the Jewish National Fund of lining their own pockets with our contributions!
What I do believe is that the present JNF leadership has, unfortunately, been unduly influenced by radical leftist ideology, where no price or human sacrifice is too high to achieve an illusionary peace with the Arab enemy.
My friend, Helen Freedman, wrote a courageous article, entitled “Arabs grabbing JNF land in Jerusalem”, which was posted on October 15, 2006, claiming that in Jerusalem important strategic portions of that land ends up in Arab hands. Her article was part of my October 26, 2006, “Letter from Jerusalem” on the same subject.
Helen and I are not writing from the top of our heads. Our writing is based on documented information from Arieh King, a passionate Zionist who resides in East Jerusalem and who has literally made it his life’s mission to uncover the tragic giveaway of Jewish land to the Arabs.
Arieh King deals with documented facts only. Such facts were submitted to Avinoam Binder, Chief Representative for Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, the Hebrew version of JNF, at his New York office.
MR. BINDER HAS CONFIRMED THAT LARGE SCALE GIVEAWAY OF JNF LANDS TO ARABS HAS BEEN OCCURRING THROUGH ISRAELI GOVERNMENT DECISIONS AND THE FAILURE OF JNF TO OPPOSE THESE DECISIONS.
The most tragic and harmful failure of JNF in this regard is its failure to rigorously oppose huge tracts of land being left on the “Arab” side of the so-called “security wall,” which is again dividing Jerusalem. JNF considers this a decision by the Israeli government, which they refuse to appeal.
The sad truth is that the NJF leadershiop has lost its way. At the present time, it does not
represent the desires of the majority of its contributors, nor the goals for which it was founded, that is to reclaim Jewish ownership of our biblical inheritance.
The CEO of the JNF, Russell F. Robinson, has written a scathing personal attack on my friend Helen Freedman, in the form of an “Open letter” to her.
An example from Mr. Robinson’s “Open letter” to Helen Freedman:
“By attacking the soul of the Jewish people, it puts you in some interesting company. You now join the ranks of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and others who attack us for our work as a Zionist organization. I ask you, Helen Freedman, what safe Israel are you talking about?”
WOW! That is a serious accusation! Helen Freedman is part of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign? You sure owe Helen Freedman an apology, Mr Robinson.
For his own organization, the JNF, Mr. Robinson has nothing but flowery platitudes, such as the following:
“We believe deeply and emotionally in our mission statement — that we are the caretakers of the land of Israel on behalf of its owners — Jewish people everywhere.”
If this were only true!
Further on his opinion of Helen Freedman:
“In your unfair representation of ‘facts’ your attack on JNF is an attack on the soil, which is the soul of the Jewish people. You, Helen Freedman, have attacked the soul of the Jewish people.”
My question for Mr. Robinson: If the SOIL is the SOUL of the Jewish People, why do you abandon our very SOUL to the Arab enemy?
We need to work to prevail on the leadership of the JNF to safeguard the principles of their founders to purchase the land solely for Jewish use. They must fight the decisions of a temporary Israeli government, which abandons these principles for an ideology which goes against the intent of the founders of the JNF at the Fifth Zionist Congress at Basel, Switzerland, in 1901:
“The JNF shall be the eternal possession of the Jewish People… The JNF protocol specifically prohibits selling land ownership and selling any rights to non-Jews.”
* * * *
JNF Not Denying It Forfeited Land to Arabs
By Gil Ronen, April 17, 2007
The Jewish National Fund is outraged at but not denying allegations that it has effectively forfeited land to the Arabs worth millions of dollars and done little to prevent squatters from building upon it.
The Jewish National Fund is scandalized by allegations that it has not booted Arabs who have constructed communities on some 320 acres (1,300 dunams) of Jewish-owned land in the Jerusalem area. WorldNetDaily’s Aaron Klein, who first reported the matter, found out that the land on which Arabs built dozens of apartment complexes and a United Nations school was entrusted to the JNF for settlement by Jews. Parts of the land, writes Klein, are cut off from the rest of Israel by the separation fence.
Why have Arabs and even the UN been allowed to illegally construct on JNF-owned property purchased with Jewish donors’ funds?
The JNF has not acted effectively against this land grab.
The land in the communities of Kalandiya, Kfar Akev and Shuafat, in northern Jerusalem was purchased by the JNF in the early 1900s from Jewish donor monies, for the sole purpose of serving as land where Jews could live. Housing Ministry officials quoted in the article said that illegal Arab construction on the land began after 1948 and has been ongoing, but that most of it was carried out in the last 15-20 years, with some apartment complexes added in 2004 and other construction still ongoing.
JNF’s Chief Executive Officer Russell F. Robinson responded to Klein’s claims saying that the article featured “unverified facts and figures.” But, Mr. Robinson cited no examples of such purported inaccuracies.
Journalist Aaron Klein told Arutz Sheva: “The information in my article is entirely accurate. It comes from my own investigating, information from the Israeli government and other sources and personal visits to the JNF sites in question. I also obtained and quoted from internal JNF documents outlining all the illegal Arab construction on the Jewish-owned lands in question. Two weeks prior to the publication of my article, I provided JNF’s Israel offices with all the information that would be outlined in the piece, including the internal JNF papers. The JNF office, quoted in my article, didn’t contradict a single piece of information.”
Continued Klein: “JNF’s official charter calls itself the ‘Jewish People’s trustee of the land,’ and says it is working to enable Jewish settlement,” he wrote. “Mr. Robinson, I challenge you to actually address the issue at hand: Why have Arabs and even the UN been allowed to illegally construct on JNF-owned property purchased with Jewish donors funds and what is the JNF going to do about it?”
Robinson sent a second letter which did not deny any facts in the initial report, but offered a defense of the JNF.
“Rest assured,” writes Robinson, “the JNF does not give away land to Arabs. In fact, today JNF owns about 17% of the land of Israel, far more than was actually purchased by the organization before the founding of the State.” He explains that Israel has a democratically-elected government and that JNF “works alongside… this government and its laws.”
But Klein insists in a written reply that the JNF has defacto given the Jerusalem suburbia land away by virtue of its inaction. He writes: “Certainly the JNF hasn’t legally forfeited its right to the lands, so it is accurate, albeit misleading, to state it didn’t technically give the land away. In practice, the JNF has done just that. The JNF’s inaction during years of illegal construction on its properties has ensured the Jerusalem areas in question will likely remain Arab. There are now entire developed Arab communities and U.N. facilities for Arabs built upon the JNF-owned lands in Jerusalem purchased by Jews, for Jews.”
The route of Israel’s separation fence was moved several times in the wake of appeals submitted by Arabs to the Supreme Court. To date, no appeal has been submitted by the JNF to demand removal of the illegal Arab squatters from its land, restoration of the land to its rightful owners and rerouting of the separation fence to protect the JNF property.
* * * *
Dear Friends,
It is imperative that all of us who love Israel show our outrage at the perfidy of the Olmert Government, which transfers ownership to Arabs of land purchased by contributions to the Jewish National Fund.
Write to the Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish National Fund, Russell F. Robinson, and express your outrage at this betrayal of the Jewish People.
Jewish National Fund
42 East 69th Street,
New York, NY 10021
USA
RESOLVE NOT TO GIVE ANY MORE MONEY TO JNF UNLESS THERE CAN BE A GUARANTEE THAT ARABS WILL NOT PROFIT FROM YOUR GIFT!
Also alert your friends who are donors to the Jewish National Fund to the deception perpetrated upon them!
With Blessings and Love for Israel,
Ruth Matar
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