In 1901, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) was founded and it has been going strong over 100 years later. It has seen exponential growth from its humble beginnings into an environmental leader with a reputation spanning the globe, planting over 200 million trees. The JNF is also responsible for creating over 200 dams and reservoirs, developing numerous acres of land, and it can also boast about its 1,000+ parks. When it isn’t improving the environment, the JNF also dedicates itself to making sure that children and young adults of Israeli descent maintain their ties with their Israeli heritage.
The JNF is the vision of its founder Theodor Herz, a former journalist. Herz sought to create a national fund to purchase land for a Jewish State in Ottoman-controlled Palestine. The fund quickly grew, increasing its reach to over 10 million Jewish people across 60+ countries by the 1920s. In 2001 the JNF achieved 100 years of operation and it remains steadfast in its mission to improve Israel’s future. The Blueprint Negev is the JNF’s lofty $600 million plan aiming to revitalize, develop, and maintain the Negev Desert which encompasses over forty percent of Israel’s land mass.
This foundation featured on The Jills Giving is one of the many unique foundations supported by The Jills team which includes Jill Eber, Jill Hertzberg, Hillary Hertzberg, Danny Hertzberg, and Felise Eber. The Jills team strongly believes in giving back and we encourage you to visit The Jills Giving website to learn more about the various foundations we support as well as a little bit about the team.