February 2008

Dear Friends of KKL-JNF

This year we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the State of Israel's independence. Every person in the Jewish world is entitled to take pride in this young country and regard himself or herself as a participant in the most exciting revolution of the modern era: a nation has returned to its homeland after two thousand years of exile and has revived its traditions, its language and its culture. This event is unparalleled in the history of humankind.

Since the beginnings of Zionism, KKL-JNF has been the Jewish People's emissary in the Land of Israel. In the 106 years since it was founded KKL-JNF has acquired land and prepared it for use; it has created agricultural communities, planted forests, helped new immigrants to acclimatize and contributed to the security of the State during its process of formation. The Jewish People, through its institutions, have blazed the trail: KKL-JNF has paved the trail.

Our work is not yet done and our duties are not yet complete. Rather, they are becoming ever more numerous, even if they do sometimes assume new aspects. The modern era presents new challenges that are quite different from those we have encountered in the past. KKL-JNF has taken important tasks upon itself, some at the behest of the government, others on its own initiative, on behalf of the nation. It is difficult to imagine what the State of Israel would be like without KKL-JNF's commitment to these undertakings. With your permission, we shall mention a few of them briefly here.

We have built 200 reservoirs that supply about a quarter of Israel's agricultural water. We help to reclaim effluents for use in irrigation and we rehabilitate rivers that have become polluted. We take care of Israel's forests and open spaces and turn them into parks that the public can visit and enjoy. Israel is now crisscrossed with a network of marked trails for hikers and cyclists, with lookout points and recreational areas in the heart of the countryside. Many paths and recreational areas have been adapted for wheelchair access.

KKL-JNF foresters pioneered desert forestry and have won renown across the globe as experts in the field. Working together with scientists, we conduct research that shows the world how desert forests can absorb carbon and reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thereby helping to combat global warming. As a corollary to this, we shall be planting over seven million trees in Israel over the coming decade - a tree for every resident of the country.

In the preparations for the 60th anniversary celebrations, KKL-JNF is giving Israel a present, in the form of two environmental gifts: a biospheric park in the Adulam region adjacent to Beit Shemesh and a cycle path linking Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

Zionist education both at home and abroad is another important aspect of our activities. We conduct special programs for young Jews abroad and for Jewish youngsters who come to visit Israel, and so help to strengthen the links between the various communities. Our decision to restore the famous Blue Box to Jewish educational institutions in Israel and overseas is another aspect of this work. The new updated message of the Blue Box, apart from promoting identification with the State of Israel, is that we must help to improve the environment, for the sake of future generations.

On behalf of KKL-JNF, and on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel, we would like to thank you personally for your moral support and encouragement and for your sense of identification with Israel and its people. As your emissaries, we are well aware of the grave responsibility we bear, and we shall do our very best to be worthy of your trust.

Yours sincerely,
Efi Stenzler Avraham Duvdevani
KKL-JNF World Chairman KKL-JNF Co-Chairman