The JNF must go back to its roots

As with so many diaspora Jews for more than 100 years, a Jewish National Fund blue collection box stood in my home as I was growing up, and I have one still.

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That's democracy

It is difficult to admire Avigdor Lieberman. He holds views which many British Jews find, to say the least, difficult. He appears certain to be indicted for corruption. He behaves as if his political mission is to create enemies rather than allies for Israel.

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'Be loyal to Israel' pleads foreign minister Lieberman

Diaspora Jews should support Israel’s government regardless of its political complexion, according to its controversial Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Jewish National Fund in London on Tuesday evening, Mr Lieberman said that Jews who organised a petition against his visit were a legitimate part of the debate about the future of Israel.

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Veteran fundraiser enjoys desert trek for JNF

Most 75-year-olds would be happy to put their feet up.

But Kenton grandfather Peter Barnett wanted to put his "on the ground and stand in solidarity with Israel".

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'You don't defend Israel properly'

A leading pro-Israel activist believes the mainstream Jewish community "cannot be trusted" to defend Israel and claims non-Jews are now leading the way in combating delegitimisation efforts.

Sam Westrop, a founder of the British Israel Coalition (BIC), said the community was often "paralysed" because it could not agree on positions to take on issues affecting Israel.

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Eviction assaults Israel's values

The Jewish National Fund has been a household name across the Jewish world for more than a century. Many of us grew up with a little blue box proudly displayed on the mantelpiece. The JNF has led the effort to transform Israel into the thriving, modern country it is today.

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JNF UK won't back Yachad

JNF UK has refused to back a campaign to halt the eviction of a Palestinian family from a house in East Jerusalem, saying the protests aid the demonisation of Israel.

Yachad, the alternative Israel advocacy group, appealed to JNF to intervene to prevent the removal of the Sumarin family in Silwan.

The Israeli courts have ruled that the property belongs to Himnuta, a subsidiary of Keren Kayem

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Happy birthday to JNF

More than 200 guests celebrated the 110th anniversary of JNF UK at a dinner in London on Saturday night.

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Anti-JNF move fails

Holborn and St Pancras Labour Party has refused to back an anti-JNF campaign, endorsed earlier in the year by local MP Frank Dobson.

He is one of 48 signatories to an early day parliamentary motion in support of the Stop the Jewish National Fund Campaign, which accuses the JNF of "illegal expropriation" of Palestinian land and calls for a review of its charitable status.

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JNF has second thoughts

JNF UK has battened down the hatches after last week's news that the head of its lucrative legacy division, Harvey Bratt, is leaving for the rival UJIA.

This week whisper reached me that JNF's finance director David Lantry had handed in his resignation, too, but when I asked JNF if this was true, it only gave the stonewalling reply that it did not comment on "issues relating to members of staff

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Goodman takes top spot at JNF UK

David Goodman has been confirmed as the permanent chief executive of JNF UK.

He joined the charity last October from the Office of the Chief Rabbi, taking on the role in an acting capacity.

Mr Goodman, who previously worked at Kisharon and served in the IDF for more than 12 years, said: "I have always believed in the JNF's mission of developing the land of Israel and supporting its people.

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Drowned out on golf demo

Rain stopped play - and protests - at the annual JNF Scotland pro-am golf tournament at Bonnyton in Glasgow on Tuesday.

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Insulting us won't help JNF Israel

Israel is facing an assault on its legitimacy unparalleled in intensity, scope and sophistication. More than ever, Anglo-Jewry must unite around the Zionist values we overwhelmingly share: to defend Israel's future as a secure, Jewish and democratic state.

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