25YEARS 10 JNF ‘catapulted into action’ after 7 October On 8 October 2023, as the true depravity of the day before in southern Israel became apparent – 1 200 killed, kibbutzim destroyed, and 250 taken captive by Hamas into Gaza – the Jewish National Fund South Africa (JNF SA) decided to do whatever it took to help Israel and the Jewish world through this horrific time. “We were catapulted into action,” said JNF SA Chairperson Michael Kransdorff. “We asked ourselves how, with limited resources and so far away, we could help people overcome the disconnection and helplessness caused by these brutal acts of terror. “Post 7 October, for the first time in generations, Jews around the world face an unprecedented threat,” Kransdorff said. “The ancient evil of antisemitism, which we believed had been vanquished, has risen once more. Despite our differences, we knew we must come together in support of Israel and stand united in the fight for the return of our hostages. We are one people with one heart, and we all have a stake in Israel’s future.” Within days, JNF SA decided to focus on directly assisting Israeli children in the south hardest hit by the war. It raised funds to temporarily relocate more than 300 children to safety at its campsite in the South African Memorial Forest in the north, where they received respite and therapy. Initially expected to last a week, this arrangement extended to eight weeks – a “Chanukah miracle”, said Kransdorff – until the government provided alternative accommodation. “Heartbroken like so many of us by the plight of the hostages, JNF SA was determined to take up their cause in South Africa.” Following a trend in other cities, JNF SA set up a large Shabbat table for hostages outside KosherWorld in Glenhazel. “Then, in conjunction with The Base Community, we launched a campaign to tie yellow ribbons around trees until the hostages are freed. We produced yellow ribbon lapel pins and yellow Shabbat candles for distribution. On Pesach and Rosh Hashanah, community members were encouraged to lay a place for a hostage.” JNF SA, together with Rabbi Aharon Zulberg of The Base Community, the Jassinowskys, and Ronit Beleli, has also arranged for released hostages and hostage families to enjoy healing and advocacy trips in South Africa, giving them respite from the ongoing conflict. While some have opted to share their experiences publicly, others chose to keep them private. Kransdorff said that when ex-hostage Sapir Cohen came to Johannesburg, she was nervous to be in a country seemingly at the epicentre of Israel hatred. When she saw the hundreds of yellow ribbons adorning trees on her drive from the airport, she sobbed at the realisation that so many people cared. “This collaboration with The Base is significant given that many secular Israelis from kibbutzim in the south are often hesitant to engage with religious communities,” Kransdorff said. “It demonstrates that different Jews can respect and collaborate with one another for the betterment of Am Yisrael.” These trips have also served to resurrect the negative image of South Africa in Israel. More such visits are planned. Together with other Zionist organisations, JNF SA organised several solidarity visits to Israel after 7 October. It partnered on three successful fundraising webinars with the SA Jewish Report. “The JNF is probably the first crowdsourcing project in history,” Kransdorff said. “It turned fundraising on its head. Rather than relying on huge bequests by wealthy families, it got millions of small donors to contribute and feel invested in Israel.” Historically, from the mid-1990s, JNF SA pivoted from an organisation mainly supporting the development of Israel to one deeply rooted in South Africa. “We saw the opportunity to share Israeli technology in areas like agriculture and water. It took some convincing of the JNF in Israel, Keren Kayemet LeYisrael [KKL], which has historically been internally focused,” Kransdorff said. The result was the Walter Sisulu Environmental Centre in Mamelodi in 2004. Today, it hosts 12 000 pupils annually who learn about biodiversity, alternative energy, water conservation, and recycling. “It’s still going strong 20 years later,” Kransdorff said. The Mamelodi Centre was recently accredited as the only science centre in a South African township. A similar, smaller centre exists in KwaZulu-Natal. The South African Memorial Forest in northern Israel was the brainchild of JNF SA’s irrepressible Isla Feldman. Apart from its formidable environmental impact, there’s a beautiful monument of a stone cut in two. There are now 94 fallen South African soldiers and 15 victims of terror commemorated there. Sadly, since 7 October, 10 new names have been added and two memorial services held. One of the JNF SA’s newest projects in Israel is “Gan Siyabonga”, or the “We Thank You Garden”, a memorial park in Tel Mond near Ra’anana with the South African Zionist Federation that honours South African Jews who fought against apartheid and supported Israel. The KKL is also regrowing Be’eri Forest that was destroyed at the Nova festival. JNF SA has a grove, and it will plant 1 200 trees, one for each person killed on 7 October. Per capita, through JNF SA, Jewish South Africans over the past 120 years have contributed the greatest amount of money to Israel despite a weakening currency. The community supported draining the swamps in the Hula Valley to open up the Galilee for settlement, and Israel’s second biggest reservoir for wastewater treatment, located in the Negev desert. The aftermath of 7 October aptly demonstrates that JNF SA is about more than blue-and-white money boxes and buying trees, although 240 million trees have been planted in Israel since its founding in 1903. Said Kransdorff, “We’ve worked hard to regenerate the organisation over the past few years. It’s great to see this acknowledged. We are one of those Jewish communal legacy organisations that have been able to reinvent ourselves and thrive. My hope is that JNF SA will continue to reinvent itself and remain for the next 120 years the vehicle through which South African Jews remain deeply rooted to our ancient homeland.” JNF SA is a worthy winner of this year’s Mann Made Community Service Award at the 2024 Absa Jewish Achiever Awards. Jewish National Fund “ We asked ourselves how, with limited resources and so far away, we could help people overcome the disconnection and helplessness caused by these brutal acts of terror. Mann Made Community Service Award winner
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDAwNDg=