Jewish National Fund
JNF Headquarters in Jerusalem | |
Native name | קרן קיימת לישראל Acronym: קק״ל |
|---|---|
| Formerly | (Jüdische) Nationalfonds |
| Company type | Public-benefit corporation |
| Industry | Real estate |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Avraham Duvdevani, chairperson, Russell Robinson, JNF-USA CEO |
| Revenue | ₪ 2.583 billion (2015) |
| ₪ 511 million (2015) | |
| ₪ 398 million (2015) | |
| Total assets | ₪ 12.720 billion (2015) |
Number of employees | 950 (2015) |
| Website | www |
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The Jewish National Fund (JNF; Hebrew: קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, Keren Kayemet LeYisrael; previously Nationalfonds) is a non-profit organization founded in 1901 to buy land and encourage Jewish settlement (aliyah) in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, subsequently Israel and the Palestinian territories). By 2007, it owned 13% of the total land in Israel. Since its inception, the JNF has planted over 240 million trees in Israel. It has also built 180 dams and reservoirs, developed 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) of land and established more than 1,000 parks.
The JNF has faced numerous criticisms for its role in the displacement of Palestinian Bedouins, the construction of Israeli military installations, the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank—considered illegal under international law, its refusal to lease to non-Jews, and its planting of non-indigenous trees potentially harmful or dangerous for Israel's ecosystem.