History

JNF is Israel’s leading humanitarian and environmental charity. We raise funds for the building blocks of everyday life in Israel such as reservoirs, irrigation systems, desalination plants, forest planting, recycling schemes, roads, housing and healthcare centres.

We are now particularly focused on the Negev, which comprises 60% of the land area of Israel. The recent rocket attacks from Gaza brought a million people within range, while the towns closer to the border with Gaza have been subject to more than 7,000 rockets over the last 7 years. Recent Green Sunday Appeals have provided emergency respite breaks, built a park to help them reclaim a normal life for their families and now we are building a children’s playground and skatepark..

We have supported Israel since the State was formed. In fact we started working on the dream before it became a reality. Since 1901 the JNF has helped build a country out of nothing. JNF Charitable Trust was formed in 1939. From that moment we raised money to buy land and create the necessary infrastructure to rebuild the Jewish homeland. Land was bought by British Jewry from the early 1920s until the early 1950s. With this ownership came a responsibility to the people that would inhabit it. Today our ties remain as strong as ever. We still own 13% of the land. And we are committed to improving the quality of life for 100% of the people.

We’ve always led the fight against two particular challenges of everyday life in Israel: the supply of water and the fertility of the land.

To help provide water for Israel, we have built many reservoirs across the country, including Elifaz, Besor and Tse’elim in the Negev, and the Gesher Reservoir in the North. This keeps drought at bay even in the country’s very driest areas, supporting life at its most basic level.

We are also well known for the forests and woodlands we’ve grown – courtesy of our supporters who plant trees in the names of family and loved ones. This fertilises the land, cleans the environment and supports wildlife. It also creates jobs for unskilled workers, especially immigrants in the early stages of absorption.

In fact, Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in the number of trees. Environmental policies may be fashionable today, but JNF UK has been pursuing them for decades.