A Miraculous Story
This is a story which hides an almost miraculous achievement. While the early Jewish settlers had to contend with
numerous hardships -- the Jewish National Fund forged ahead in its pioneering venture of turning the arid land of Israel into a flourishing and productive landscape.
 Holding Land in Trust
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to purchase and develop the land of Israel and to hold it in trust for the Jewish People. The philosophy which guides its work derives from the biblical injunction: ". . . the Land shall not be sold in perpetuity." (Leviticus 25:23) That is to say that land acquired through the efforts of the entire Jewish People is national land which cannot be sold - it may only be leased.
 Agriculture, Settlement and Afforestation
For more than ninety years, the KKL-JNF has spearheaded the pioneering Zionist enterprise in Israel and the Diaspora. From the outset, its efforts focused on land purchase. But it quickly became clear that simply acquiring land was not enough; it also had to be reclaimed to prepare tracts for settlement. Consequently, it was not long before the KKL-JNF also began to prepare land for agriculture and rural settlement, and to plant trees to reforest the desolate landscape.
A Host of Activities
Over the years, the KKL-JNF has been engaged in land development and conservation, afforestation, the establishment of parks and recreation areas, rolling back the desert, road-building, preparing land infrastructure for rural settlements and parks, the construction of water reservoirs, and site preparation for housing new immigrants. In addition, the KKL-JNF sponsors and runs ongoing Zionist educational activities in KKL-JNF summer camps and schools throughout Israel and in Jewish Communities abroad.
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KKL-JNF's Achievements
The KKL-JNF - Creating Environmental Quality
* Planted 200 million trees
in 200,000 acres of land.
* Cares for additional 100,000 acres woodland.
* Reclaimed 250,000
acres for agriculture.
* Purchased 650,000
acres for settlement.
* Cares for 100,000
acres pasture land.
* Built 400 picnic areas,
25 recreation parks.
The KKL-JNF - strengthening
ties of Jews with the Land
of Israel.
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