A Message from Ronald S. Lauder - #2 in a Series
I have traveled all over the world, seen great cities and mesmerizing landscapes, but there is no sight more breathtaking than the Negev desert. Here the history of our people shouts from every mountain and the hope for our people’s future beckons from every valley.
Jewish National Fund has embarked on Blueprint Negev, a long-term vision to develop the Negev into a hospitable environment for today’s and future residents that will become home to 250,000 new people over the next five years. We move forward in this international $500 million campaign with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, Daroma, the Israeli government and the Or Movement, and our plans include building reservoirs, creating infrastructure for new homes, connecting people with job opportunities, and attracting industry, while preserving the desert environment. JNF is creating a philanthropic bank to assist in financing loans for people moving to the Negev.
Ten years of dramatic population growth in central Israel point to the necessity of looking to its vast southern desert. The Negev represents 60% of Israel’s landmass, but only 8% of its population lives there. JNF’s Blueprint Negev initiative is essential to Israel’s future. This is your opportunity to participate. Go to www.jnf.org/negev to learn more and make a donation.
Our plan is to build new, planned communities and strengthen existing communities across the Negev. Today, I want to tell you about our work in the northeastern region and the people who have made it their home.
At Haruv, 22 families have founded a community with the goal of growing to 210. Their vision is one of religious and secular Jews living side by side, sharing community resources and activities.
Haruv sits on its temporary site while its permanent home beckons from a hilltop, waiting for the infrastructure to be created. Residents live in temporary caravillas, and work and go to school in nearby Kiryat Gat.
A new JNF-KKL playground is being constructed for Haruv’s children. At Kibbutz Shomriya, established in the 1930’s, only 13 families remain. The fields and dairy farms lay fallow; the adult children have moved away. The Israeli government approved a plan to turn over the kibbutz to 60 families who were evacuated from Gaza. More will join later with a goal of 150 families. JNF-KKL is preparing the infrastructure for temporary homes and will do the same for the permanent homes. The current kibbutz members will move to nearby Kibbutz Dvir where they will welcome additional families once the infrastructure is completed.
Once a military outpost surrounded by the JNF Lahav Forest, Sansana has been refashioned with the help of JNF as a new Negev town. It currently has 220 people and looks to expand to 2,200. Living in temporary JNF-sponsored caravans, residents have already found work in the area, while others study at nearby Ben-Gurion University in Beersheva. When asked, most Sansana-ites say that their motivation for moving to the Negev was their love of the desert’s wide-open space and a Zionist urge to fulfill Ben-Gurion’s wish.
“I love our home. Look at the flowers! It is the most beautiful house in the world,” said Or Cohen, aged 51/2. She points to the garden surrounding the temporary home of the Cohen family in the new community of Giv’ot Bar near Beersheva. Indeed, the flourishing pathways between the caravillas, which for the past two years have been home for 25 young families, are a sure sign the Negev has begun to blossom. Help one of these families by visiting www.jnf.org/negev.
Giv’ot Bar, which literally means ‘hills of grain,’ has plans to grow to 500 families with JNF-KKL’s continuing partnership. At Carmit, JNF is working with Nefesh B’Nefesh to establish an English-speaking community where Diaspora Jews can change the quality of life and image of the Negev.
In my next message, I'll talk about JNF's work in Be'ersheva and the development towns of the Negev.
This is no mirage. This is our vision: Blueprint Negev, David Ben Gurion’s dream made possible by JNF, its partners and you.
Come stand with me on these desert hills. It is here that you can feel the future of our people. Be Israel’s 21st century pioneers. Join me today.
Ronald S. Lauder, President, Jewish National Fund
email: RLauder@jnf.org
P.S. To get a free DVD visit www.jnf.org/dvd or to learn more visit www.jnf.org or call 888-JNF-0099.
