JNF Seeks Way Out of “Jews Only” Land Allocation Following Public Pressure

August 1, 2007

According to Haaretz, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) is reportedly preparing to exchange all its land designated for residential development for open countryside not slated for construction. This would avoid the politically sensitive issue that has arisen after new legislation passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset last week. The legislation would require JNF land – some 13 percent of the land held by the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) – to be leased to "Jews only." The pending legislation seeks to avert a ruling by the Supreme Court in response to a petition submitted by veteran NIF grantees Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Adalah: Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel demanding that JNF begin leasing land to non-Jews. This follows the Court's previous decision to ban "Jews only" tenders in 2005.

Understandably, many in the NIF family were angered by last week's vote in the Knesset, which saw the "Jews only" bill pass its preliminary reading by a large majority of 64-16. Debbie Gild-Hayo, Director of Policy Advocacy for ACRI, is participating in the campaign to ensure that the bill does not become law. "The bill must pass three readings in the Knesset and be discussed in various committees," she explained. "We will lobby Knesset members and raise their awareness of the racist nature of this law and lodge objections in the various committees."

In the unlikely event that the proposed law is enacted, ACRI and Adalah will challenge its legitimacy in the Supreme Court as contravening the Basic Law on Human Rights. Dan Yakir, ACRI's Senior Legal Counsel, sees the proposed new legislation as a way of pre-empting the September court hearing on ACRI's 2005 petition. "If our petition is passed," he said, "it would force the ILA to market JNF lands to Arabs as well as Jews."

Read more in Haaretz article “The JNF, Backed into a Corner.”