Talk:Jewish National Fund

This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Edit warring

Please would involved parties discuss here. In my opinion there should be something of the disputed material in this article but perhaps it can be summarized into something shorter? Selfstudier (talk) 13:56, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

Hi SelfStudier, I've received a message from OgamD218 and User:Zero0000 stating I should not be editing this page however I assume this doesn't extend to the talk page? JNF-KKL and JNF-UK and in some aspect considered two different organisations, although some would note this as deliberate given the controversy of JNF-KKL and the UK branch wishing to distance itself (I have some citations that can be provided to this effect if you would like). It may be viable as an alternative that a sepprate page of JNF-UK is created and edits in the UK section are transfer there with a link to JNF-KKL (this page). In regards to disputed material I am not confidence these were made in good faith seeing as the UK Jewish Newspapers were printing weekly and sometimes daily on the events that have recently unfolded which resulted in JNF being censured. If anything at least that aspect the censured should remain in the article. I would be in favour of a sepprate page with keeping the full detail. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Scorchgider (talk • contribs) 20:14, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

@Selfstudier: I definitely agree that the content belongs but should be shortened. I apologize, I did not see this post until a moment ago and went ahead and trimmed the section to best extent I could. @Scorchgider: yes you're permitted to post freely on the talk page like any other editor and thank you for coming to the talk page to discuss this matter and not continuing to edit war-@Pauleredge: please follow this example. I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say in the second half of your post however, please clarify what exactly you mean by In regards to disputed material I am not confidence these were made in good faith seeing as the UK Jewish Newspapers were printing weekly and sometimes daily on the events that have recently unfolded which resulted in JNF being censured? OgamD218 (talk) 04:01, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

My first impression is that the wording maybe should be changed to JNF Israel as opposed to JNF-KKL which is somewhat confusing and not widely used in the article otherwise. The fact that the JNF's international affiliates are (and long have been) incorporated as independent entities means they're per-se separate organizations but not in a way that requires the drafting of separate articles imho, the longstanding intent of all these groups is still to operate as part of a single whole. OgamD218 (talk) 04:10, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

https://jstreet.org/press-releases/jnf-kkls-proposal-to-officially-fund-illegal-settlement-expansion-is-outrageous-and-unacceptable/ says that "However, JNF-USA transfers large sums of money to their Israeli counterpart on a regular basis." can we try and pin down the exact relationship between the entities? Selfstudier (talk) 11:51, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

@Selfstudier: @Scorchgider: idk how to word it without tedious dets of the JNF's history (IE its founding predates that of Israel's but it was founded w/ the purpose of being for Israel) and/or regarding multiple domestic laws of incorporation-IE historically the rights of political orgs to operate outside of the country on whose behalf they operate were highly restricted for obvious reasons. Al JNFs could have reincorp'd either in their bylaws or re-allocation of Board (or w.e the corp ruling body is of the JNF) member seats or shares. While this would've made the overseas JNFs officially subservient to the a/the Israeli org, it comes w/ a host of undesirables-some of which would be unpredictable. The JNFs would become foreign assets that could be unilaterally seized and/or sued for the activities of the israeli JNF-I'd say esp the Euro JNFs would not want to be open that kind of liability. Without a special waiver (like that given to the RC Church) the JNF in the US would have to at the very least register as a Foreign Agent + be subject to other reg scrutiny. As they predate israel they enjoy greater freedom to use the JNF brand-incl for fundraising-denying the IsraeliJNF power to assign/deny trademarks/copyrights etc. I guess one could describe the relationship as "overseas affiliates"-"chapters" or "franchises" is misleading. OgamD218 (talk) 23:21, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

@OgamD218: Don't worry about the trimming. I actually think it looks a lot better than it has done previously, you've actually made it easier to read. In regards to my second half just so it's on the records. Selfstudier stated in the beginning of this talk section stated "disputed material". I thought that was to mean the constant edits and reverts that were going on between myself and Pauleredge. Essentially what I was trying to say is that the reasons of "undue weight" for the reverts were not sufficiently justified () given that it was heavily in the press. Apologies if I made that unclear. I am not familiar with the long term history of JNF, only the short term. But given however I notice many organisations that are worldwide just have sections in different countries on the same page. I now think the standard would be to keep one page. Can I ask your view if you believe that overseas affiliates"-"chapters" or "franchises" are misleading. How would you describe the different organisations on JNF in different countries, given that on occasion they attempt to distance themselves from each other. I'd also like to add that each country should either have it's own infobox section or have members of those countries listed if they are both key people and have their own Wikipedia page. Scorchgider (talk) 23:50, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

Error in section "2021 Controversy"

The second sentence of section "2021 Controversy" includes the words:

Hayek claimed the evidence lied in "the number of immigrants to England. ..."

The word "lied" is incorrect. The most likely correct word in this context is "lay". Another possibility is "lies". Misha Wolf (talk) 22:03, 27 August 2023 (UTC)

In the absence of any response, I've replaced "lied" with "lay". Misha Wolf (talk) 15:29, 4 September 2023 (UTC)

Original name

The article claims that the original name was "הפאנד הלאומי‎" (The National Fund). This supposes that the original name was in Hebrew, but back then business was done in German. The original name was actually Nationalfonds, sometimes expanded to Jüdischer Nationalfonds. This is what appears in the minutes of the 1901 Zionist Congress and countless other early sources. As far as I can figure out, the first Hebrew title was KKL adopted in 1921, but I'm open to a better source for that. Zero^talk 14:15, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

Nahum Sokolov reported to the 8th Zionist Congress in 1907:

One of our most important tasks was the legalization of the National Fund [Nationalfonds].

The question which had occupied our organization for several years was finally settled, in that it was decided to register the National Fund as a "cooperative, limited by guarantee" with the English courts.

The implementation of this decision required a lot of effort and a great deal of paperwork until it finally succeeded in adapting the statutes equally to both the wishes of our organization and the provisions of English law. On April 8 of this year, the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kajemeth Le Jisroel) Limited was registered in London. Immediately afterward, the directorate, which had been appointed on the occasion of the annual conference in July 1906, began its work. [Stenographisches Protokoll, pp51–52]

This doesn't entirely solve the problem of when the KKL name appeared, but it seems to solve the problem of when it became a legal name. From a legal search, the actual spelling was one letter different: Keren Kayemeth Le Jisroel. Zero^talk 06:51, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

Now I found all the official documents and will edit. Zero^talk 12:22, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 6 January 2026

Remove "for Jewish settlement" at the end of the first sentence. It is gramatically incorrect because it already says it was founded to "buy land and encourage Jewish settlement" earlier in the sentence. ~2025-43026-21 (talk) 16:32, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

 Done Seems uncontroversial to me D1551D3N7 (talk)

Edit request 27 February 2026

Description of suggested change:

In the info box, under key people. Avraham Duvedavani is no longer chairperson. The current chairperson is Eyal Ostrinsky. See here: https://www.jewishagency.org/leadership/

Diff: Warning Unnamed parameter |1= set to default value. Please change it. Failure to use {{Text diff}} to specify your requested text changes, if not adequately described above, may lead to your request being denied.
Jlherman324 (talk) 03:39, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: Your link shows the leadership for the Jewish Agency for Israel. Could you please provide the correct link? Day Creature (talk) 05:07, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

apologies -- here is the correct link showing Eyal Ostrinsky as chair -- https://www.kkl-jnf.org/about-kkl-jnf/kkl-jnf-id/our-leadership/

it has also been covered in the press here: https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/s1o72dm2zl Jlherman324 (talk) 02:43, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

 Done Day Creature (talk) 15:02, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

Content of the current (3/2/26) introductory paragraph and potential for bias

As of March 2nd, 2026, the very first paragraph of the article body reads "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. In 2002, the Israeli government awarded the JNF the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the State of Israel." Given current political turmoil and conflict, it would be best to adjust this initial paragraph to something that less resembles greenwashing of what is – as uncontroversial as I can make it sound – a "colonizing" (in the occupation/development of land sense, not necessarily in the displacing inhabitants sense) institution, which is in itself not a bad thing. Yes, this is all important information that deserves to be part of the page, no question, but these "achievements" would be best presented elsewhere in the article instead of the headlining paragraph – this, hopefully, aiming to make Wikipedia that bit more objective day by day. ~2026-13626-98 (talk) 17:20, 2 March 2026 (UTC)

Edit request 20 April 2026

Description of suggested change: mentioning funding by Jeffrey Epstein

Diff:

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=== Criticism and controversy === [...]

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=== Criticism and controversy === [...]In February 2026, [[January 2026 release of the Epstein files|released documents]] on deceased sex trafficker [[Jeffrey Epstein]] showed that he gifted $15,000 to the JNF in 2006, along with $25,000 to [[Friends of the Israeli Defence Forces]].

LGaps (talk) 15:24, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

 Done Day Creature (talk) 16:33, 20 April 2026 (UTC)