Jewish National Fund

In the contemporary era, the organization funds infrastructure, education, and other public works projects in Israel. ¹

Background

Jewish National Fund-USA says it plants trees in Israel, builds houses, builds medical centers, builds parks, purchases fire trucks, and works to increase tourism. It also says it supports Zionist education. ³

The Jewish National Fund is called “Keren Kayemet L’Israel” in Hebrew. ⁴

Russell F. Robinson is the CEO of the JNF-USA. ⁵

History

The Jewish National Fund was established in 1901 to purchase land for Jews to settle in Ottoman Palestine with the goal of establishing a Jewish homeland in Israel. ²

This began when the Fifth Zionist Congress met in Basel, Switzerland in 1901. Delegates debated a proposed national fund to purchase land. After significant debate, and initially moving to table the idea, the congress resolved that “the fund shall be the property of the Jewish people as a whole,” and determined it would first collect £200,000 (approximately £20.5 million or $26.8 million adjusted for inflation ⁶) to buy land. ⁴

Jewish people around the world collected coins and donated to JNF Blue Boxes to purchase land in the area that would eventually be recognized as the State of Israel. ⁷ The Jewish National Fund’s American subsidiary, Jewish National Fund-USA, was established in 1926. ¹

In 1903, the JNF acquired an 800-acre parcel of land in Hadera and focused on planting trees on all new land purchased. In 1908, the JNF bought land and planted trees in Hulda. ⁴

When Israel became a sovereign country in 1948, the JNF owned 12.5 percent of all Israel’s land on which 80 percent of the Israeli population lived. ⁴

In the first 50 years of the organization, JNF focused on purchasing land. In the following 50 years, the JNF focused on developing land, and planted more than 220 million trees; built infrastructure for housing and parks; and helped settle immigrants to Israel. ⁴

Following the 1967 Six-Day War that saw Israel gain control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip among other territories, the Jewish National Fund refrained from buying West Bank land in part responding to U.S. donors. ²

In 2021, the board of the Jewish National Fund approved a policy to purchase land in the West Bank. The move happened as the Biden administration was rolling back a Trump administration policy to recognize Israel’s West Bank settlements. The organization wants to grow the population in the 60 percent of the West Bank that is controlled by Israel from 400,000 to 1 million people. The JNF does not buy land in the 40 percent of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority. ²

Almost immediately after the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, the Jewish National Fund-USA established a “situation room” to coordinate relief efforts to Israel. The organization supported thousands of displaced Israelis. ⁸ After the Hamas attack, the JNF-USA activated its network of buildings, including two high schools, to shelter numerous other displaced people. ⁸

In 2024, the Canada Revenue Agency revoked nonprofit status from the Jewish National Fund of Canada. ⁹

Activities

The Jewish National Fund says that since 1901, it has planted more than 250 million trees, built more than 250 reservoirs and dams, developed more than 250,000 acres of land, created more than 2,000 parks, provided the infrastructure for over 1,000 communities in Israel, and connected thousands of children and young adults to Israel and their heritage. ⁷

The JNF-USA runs the Blueprint Negev and Go North initiatives to encourage people to move to the Negev and Galilee regions of the country. ⁸ The organization stresses that 90 percent of Israel’s population is concentrated in the Tel Aviv-Haifa-Jerusalem Corridor, while much of the country is largely uninhabited. It adds that seven out of 10 Israelis are living in about 10 percent of the country’s total land area. The group wants to motivate “scores” of Israelis to move out of crowded cities and help in developing the rest of the country, and wants to encourage “thousands of Americans—to move to the Negev and Galilee.” ¹⁰

The organization established a “One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Next Decade.” Under this plan, $400 million is projected to go to community building in Israel that would include a housing development fund, park recreation space, and employment initiatives. Another $200 million will be aimed at Zionist education and advocacy, $45 million is aimed at leadership development and $5 million will be targeted at international cooperation. Another 35 percent would be spent on infrastructure for ecology, special needs, and heritage preservation. This subcategory includes $50 million for water solutions, $100 million for forestry and green Innovations; $50 million for research and development; $50 million for special needs services, and $100 million for heritage sites. ³

In March 2024, JNF-USA announced that its Israel Advocacy and Education department achieved a remarkable milestone by raising over $100,000 through its “Tu Bishvat in the Schools” campaign, leveraging its strong ties with schools and synagogues nationwide. ¹¹

Among the most active JNF-USA affiliates in Israel is MAKOM Communities, which helped more than 20,000 Israelis in 30 cities by providing emotional support, therapy, and children’s activities after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Further, MAKOM cleaned and restored 400 bomb shelters in north and south Israel. ⁸

JNS-USA launched “Volunteer in Israel” missions to encourage four-day trips to Israel to be involved in on-the-ground volunteer charitable work. ⁸

The JNF-USA’s Alexander Muss High School in Israel began in 1972, and has focused on the study of Israel and Jewish history at the high school level. More than 30,000 students have benefited from the Muss High School, according to the group. ¹

JNF has raised money to support Israel’s firefighters and provided fire trucks and other firefighting equipment. ¹

Canada Branch Loss of Charitable Status, creation of “Friends of JNF Canada”

In 2024, the Canadian tax authority revoked the charitable status of JNF’s Canadian branch, along with other pro-Israeli fundraising nonprofits operating in the country. The decision had been due to allegations of the group keeping its accounting operations in Israel instead of Canada, and fundraising efforts allegedly going towards funding Israeli military bases as well as Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In June 2025, the Canadian federal court rejected an appeal by the organization to have its status restored. ¹²

In September 2025, supporters of the local JNF chapter announced that had formed a new organization titled “Friends of JNF Canada,” with Nathan Disenhouse and Lance Davis, JNF Canada’s president and CEO respectfully, announcing “The absence of our charitable status has limited our ability to operate effectively, and our supporters have told us they want their donations to have the full impact, including the ability to receive charitable receipts.” ¹² The statement further read that the new organization would continue to serve “Israelis in need through charitable projects that help the vulnerable, enhance environmental sustainability, and support the mental & physical health of Israelis in need.” ¹²

Donors

The Harvey and Gloria Kaylie Foundation gave $7 million to the Jewish National Fund in 2022. ¹

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund contributed $2.9 million to the JNF-USA in 2022. ¹

The Schwab Charitable Fund gave $1.4 million to the JNF-USA in 2022. ¹