Americans for Peace Now (APN) is outraged by the Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (JNF-KKL) Executive Committee’s vote yesterday (April 11th 2021) to allow buying land in the West Bank for settlement expansion. APN urges the JNF-KKL’s Board of directors to reject the decision when it comes to its final vote on April 22nd.

The JNF-KKL adopted the resolution yesterday by a six to five majority.

By endorsing the doctrine that deems West Bank land as qualified for purchase by the organization, the JNF-KKL will voluntarily become a tool in the service of West Bank ideological zealot settlers, who are constantly escalating their campaign to dispossess local Palestinians. This campaign is at the center of international criticism of the Israeli government. It is a practice that most American Jews strongly reject.

APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “JNF funds, collected in synagogues, schools, and Jewish homes worldwide, should not be used to further entrench the occupation and thereby undermine the founding values of the State of Israel. Nor should they be used to betray the values of world Jewry. Most American Jews deeply oppose the settlement enterprise and do not want to see Jewish donations used to bolster it. The Israel they want to help build is not one that dispossesses Palestinians, but rather an Israel that seeks peace with its neighbors, upholds democracy, and respects human rights. Purchasing land to further expand West Bank settlements is antithetical to these values. It entrenches the occupation, and it therefore jeopardizes Israel’s future as a democracy and threatens its national security.”