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Jewish National Fund

Jewish National Fund

The Jewish National Fund (Hebrew: קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, Keren Kayemet LeYisrael; commonly known by the acronym KKL-JNF or simply JNF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1901 to buy land and encourage Jewish settlement (aliyah) in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, subsequently Israel and the Palestinian territories). By 2007, it owned 13% of the total land in Israel. Since its inception, the JNF has planted over 240 million trees in Israel. It has also built 180 dams and reservoirs, developed 250,000 acres (1,000 km) of land and established more than 1,000 parks.

The JNF has faced numerous criticisms for its role in the displacement of Palestinian Bedouins, the construction of Israeli military installations, the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank—considered illegal under international law, its refusal to lease to non-Jews, and its planting of non-indigenous trees potentially harmful or dangerous for Israel's ecosystem.