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Mar. 1, 2021
Hadassah Women s Zionist Organization is coming under fire close to home for its pivotal role in a Thursday decision by the Jewish National Fund in Israel to allocate money to purchase land in the West Bank for Israeli settlements.
After the decision of Hadassah s JNF Representative Barbara Goldstein to abstain from voting have ultimately permitted the allocation of 38 million shekels ($11.6 million) for future purchases of land in the West Bank, to pass, more than 250 graduates of Young Judaea, the youth movement that has been supported by and associated with Hadassah, signed a petition expressing “pain” at the move and “imploring” it to reconsider its position.
A volunteer repainting trail markers in the KKL-JNF s US Independence Park (Shmuel Bar-Am)
An enchanting trail on the 45-minute nature hike that circles the peak above the Ktalav Riverbed. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
Hikers rest at a table below the accessible path above the Ktalav riverbed. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
The Israel in Stone sculpture oversees beautiful views. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
The Gladys Miller Recreation Center. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
The Gladys Miller Recreation Center. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
Cyclamen bloom at KKL-JNF US Independence Park. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
A restored shomera watchtower at the The Gladys Miller Recreation Center. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
The nature hike that circles the peak above the Ktalav Riverbed. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
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The organization, which is also known by its Hebrew name Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and which is separate from JNF in the United States, has not yet made a final policy decision, however, to permit the organization to purchase land in the West Bank, which is beyond Israel s sovereign borders.
Sources present at the vote said that, to their surprise, representatives of the Hadassah women s Zionist organization abstained, paving the way for the measure to pass. The Meretz party faction on the board said it would appeal the decision and ask for further debate in light of the closeness of the vote.
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Feb. 17, 2021
One might think that Russell Robinson, longtime CEO of the Jewish National Fund in the United States, would be unhappy, disturbed or, at a minimum, somehow affected by recent events concerning the organization that bears the same as his in Israel.
After all, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund has hit the headlines recently for a drastic policy proposal by its leadership: to formalize the purchase of lands in the West Bank that would expand and strengthen the settler enterprise. When asked about it, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department deemed it a “unilateral action” incompatible with pursuing a two-state solution. Several of the Israeli organization’s board members, representing the Reform and Conservative movements, have sounded the alarm, calling the decision reckless and disastrous, warning that it would dry up Diaspora donations to the group and “endanger the very existence” of the organization.
Dec 22, 2020
The plaque reads: “Kushner Garden of Peace in honor of Jared Kushner whose indispensable role in brokering the Abraham Accords and advancing peace will not be forgotten”
At the inauguration of the Kushner Garden of Peace at the Grove of Nations in the Jerusalem Forest on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded Jared Kushner – President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser – for his important contribution to peace between Israel and Arab countries.
The Grove of Nations, established by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael/Jewish National Fund in 2005, makes up a part of the initiative led by UNESCO and the Council of Europe to establish an Olive Tree Route around the entire Mediterranean basin expressing the common desire for peace and co-existence.