Since 1917 & JNF Australia’s first project of a forest to honour the returning forces after the First World War, JNF Australia has engaged in a myriad of projects that have helped to create an improved lifestyle for the inhabitants of Israel from north to south & east to west.
These projects have spanned the length & breadth of Israel & have included national projects that have helped to uplift whole regions as well as individually-sponsored projects, & partnership projects with organisations such as Maccabi, National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, Bnei Brith and many other premier academic & welfare institutions in Israel that have helped to “make a difference” – a very positive difference for those who live in Israel.
Since the granting of tax deductibility – all contributions above $1 to the JNF Environment Gift Fund – are fully tax deductible & such contributions are applied towards ground-breaking, innovative projects that contribute towards environmental upliftment not only in Israel but often far beyond the region’s borders.
In addition, JNF Australia’s Bequests & Planned Giving Department ensures that donor’s gifts & legacies are applied towards tangible projects that perpetuate the names of such donors in a meaningful way.
With the Negev occupying 60% of Israel’s land surface but with only 8% of Israel’s population inhabiting this harsh region, the challenge in recent times for JNF Australia has been to attract those seeking respite from the expensive, congested central areas of Israel to come & live in the new areas of the Negev able to flourish & grow through the water & land conservation projects undertaken by the JNF in this area.
Vision, dedication, pioneering spirit – that’s what it takes to create miracles in the land of our forefathers & it was our forefathers who had the same foresight & commitment to create the JNF in 1901 as a vehicle towards building and maintaining the partnership between Jews all over the world and the Land of Israel.
The foundation laid by our parents & their parents before them allows Jews who didn’t know what it meant to live without a Jewish Homeland to ensure that this should never happen again.
It allows Jews all around the world to build on the precious investment made by parents & grandparents towards ensuring that just as they did for us, so should we be able to do for our children & grandchildren – pass on to them a precious investment that has been secured, improved, nurtured & nourished helping to guarantee Jewish survival into the future.
AUSTRALIAN PROJECTS: 1917 - 2010
| 1917 | Australian Expeditionary Forest - to honour those who fought in Europe and the Middle East in World War I |
| 1930 | Kings Jubilee Forest – Commonwealth Project |
| 1932 | Sir John Monash Forest - in honour of Australia’s most famous commander in World War I and Australia’s highest-ranking Jewish soldier. |
| 1946 | Kfar [ Village] Monash inaugurated |
| 1947 | Sir Thomas Blamey Forest – in honour of Australia’s first Field Marshal and Commander of the Allied land forces in the South West Pacific during World War II |
| 1950 | NCJWA - First partnership project between JNF & NCJWA at Kfar Hanass |
| 1951 | Dr. H.V. Evatt Forest – in honour of Australia’s former Foreign Minister who chaired the Committee of the United Nations General Assembly which oversaw the vote to establish the State of Israel |
| 1952 | NCJWA - Neve Zipporah settlement in Gan Yavneh honouring Dr Fanny Reading. Also Vera Cohen Communal Hall incorporating Gladys Slutzkin Library. |
| 1957 | NCJWA - an “Australian Park” in the Jerusalem Forest |
| 1960 | Nachalat [Land Dedication] City of Sydney – in honour of the City and its then Lord Mayor Alderman Harry Jensen |
| 1960 | Nachalat [ Land Dedication] New South Wales – in honour of the State of NSW and its then Premier R.J. Heffron |
| 1960 | NCJWA - Kfar Hanassi Swimming Pool |
| 1962 | Nachalat [Land Dedication] Victoria – in honour of the State of Victoria and its then Premier Sir Henry Bolte |
| 1963 | Nachalat [Land Dedication] Sir Henry and Lady Woodward – in honour of the then Governor of NSW |
| 1964 | Sir Robert and Dame Pattie Menzies Forest – in honour of the then Prime Minister of Australia |
| 1966 | NCJWA - Moshav Alma (Upper Galilee) helping in building of the synagogue and community centre. NCJWA continued to support Alma with the proceeds of the annual JNF Queen Competition focusing on the vocational guidance provided to women and girls in the settlement. |
| 1968 | ANZAC Memorial and Forest – in honour of the Anzacs |
| 1968 | Sir Harold Holt Memorial Grove – established in the Anzac Forest in honour of the late former Prime Minister |
| 1970 | Nachalat [Land Dedication] Queensland – in honour of the State of Queensland and its then Premier Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen |
| 1970 | Ketura in the Arava – a project to help pacify Israel’s border with Jordan |
| 1972 | Nachalat [Land Dedication] Perth – in honour of the City and its then Mayor Sir Thomas Wardell |
| 1973 | Nachalat [Land Dedication] South Australia – in honour of the State of South Australia and its then Governor Sir Mark Oliphant |
| 1973 | NCJWA - In honour of NCJWA's Golden Jubilee, NCJWA pledged to plant 10,000 trees at Keren Maharal |
| 1974 | Western Australia Forest – in honour of the 150th Anniversary of the State of Western Australia |
| 1975 |
Bob Hawke Forest – in honour of the then ACTU President and Prime Minister [1983-1991], Robert James Lee Hawke |
| 1978 | Australia Forest – to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Australian Federation |
| 1980 | NCJWA - Moshav Alma school yard paved & assistance at Kibbutz Kaderim |
| 1982 | NCJWA - Building of Library at Moshav Alma |
| 1983 | Sir Zelman and Lady Cowen Forest – in honour of Australia’s second Jewish Governor General |
| 1983 | NCJWA - Diamond Jubilee Forest to complement its sixtieth year of existence in Australia |
| 1985 | Australian Yiskor Forest – at Kerem Maharal |
| 1986 | NCJWA - Two tennis courts in Misgav in the Galil. |
| 1987 - 1992 |
Galil – Australia – JNF Australia adopted the Segev region of the Galilee with a commitment to sponsor the establishment of a regional centre at Misgav as well as settlements at Shorashim, Rakefet and Koranit. The project included the well known Australia Park. NCJWA also raised funds towards this project |
| 1988 | Australia-Israel Friendship Forest – commemorating jointly the Bicentennial of Australia and the 40th Anniversary of the State of Israel. This Forest was dedicated in honour of the Prime Ministers of Australia and Israel to date, and in recognition of Dr. H.V. Evatt, former Australian Foreign Minister who chaired the Committee of the United Nations General Assembly which oversaw the vote to create the State of Israel. |
| 1989 | NCJWA - Negev Desert region in the valley of Uvdah 60 kms north of Eilat "NCJWA Tourist and Recreation Park |
| 1990 | NCJWA - With the early completion of the Uvdah Valley project, NCJWA adopted a new project in Rishon Le Zion. |
| 1992 | Hamadia Reservoir – in the Beit Shean Valley |
| 1992 | Rabbi Dr Israel Porush Memorial Forest – Shorashim forest in the Misgav. |
| 1994 | Besor Reservoir – The Australian Reservoir was so successful that it became the centrepiece of a three dam complex joined by JNF of America, England and South Africa. The NCJWA dedicated their contribution towards the Besor Reservoir in honour of Vera Cohen. |
| 1996 | Jerusalem 3000 – to celebrate the 3000th anniversary of Jerusalem as the capital of Am Yisrael. JNF Australia took part in two important initiatives, the KKL Park in Jerusalem as well as the Gan Yaldei Yisrael Gift of Jewish Children of the World to the City of David. |
| 1996 | Bob Carr Forest – in honour of the Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr |
| 1996 | Arthur Calwell Forest – in memory of Australia’s first Minister of Immigration who facilitated the immigration to Australia of Holocaust survivors |
| 1997 | Clyde Holding Woodland – in honour of former Minister and Federal parliamentarian, and former Leader of the Victorian Opposition who established the Federal Parliamentary Friends of Israel Group. |
| 1997 - 1999 | Arava Australia – an ambitious project undertaken by JNF Australia, to help develop one of the most isolated areas of the Negev. |
| 1998 | Jeff Kennett Forest – in honour of the then Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett |
| 1998 - 1999 | Beit Shean Valley Project – A soil rehabilitation and enrichment project |
| 2000 | Australian Olympic Forest – a forest established by JNF Australia to commemorate the Olympics held in Sydney in that year |
| 2000 - 2001 | Shlomi Water for the Galil Project – a two year project designed to treat effluent and waste water for agricultural and industrial use in Shlomi. |
| 2000 - 2001 | NCJWA – Childrens playground at Shlomit – a suburb of Shlomi |
| 2002 - 2003 | Bachan Emergency Water Reclamation Project – a two year project in the heartland of Israel’s major farming region to convert contaminated water from the territories into water suitable for agricultural use. |
| 2003 | Eucalyptus Gall Wasp Project – a project of the Vic. Gold Patrons to fund research into locating a natural predator to eliminate the Gall wasp that destroys eucalyptus trees in both Israel and Australia. |
| 2003 | Hula Valley Constructed Wetland Project – financed by a JNF Vic. donor |
| 2003 | KKL-BGU Joint Research Project on the desalinization of artesian water. |
| 2003 | Lotan Environmental projects – a national project to help develop the environmental activities and projects at Kibbutz Lotan in the Negev |
| 2004 - 2005 | Rehabilitation of the Yarkon River and Surrounds – designated by the Knesset as a project of national importance in the heartland of Israel. |
| 2005 | Bnei Shimon Region of the Negev - Water & land conservation projects |
| 2006 | Restoration of Forests damaged by the 2006 War in the North |
| 2007 | John Howard Forest in Nahal Assaf – Northern Negev |
| 2008 | NCJWA – Outdoor Classroom at Rosh Tzippor, Yarkon River |
| 2008 | The ANZAC Trail & Nahal Assaf Environmental Education Centre & ANZAC Commemorative Park |
| 2008 | Research Project for Stormwater Harvesting & Recycling Biofiltration Systems for Aquifer Recharge |
| 2009 | Afforestation and land conservation projects - Yerucham |
| 2009 | South Australia-Israel Twin Friendship Forests – Twin Forest Yatir |
| 2009 | Sderot Children – nature trails, camps & environmental courses. |
| 2009 | Sha’ar Hanegev Region of Northern Negev – Erez Water Reclamation Facility |
| 2010 | Bird Observatory – Rosh Tzippor |
| 2010 | Shahariya Forest Upgrade |
* NCJWA = National Council of Jewish Women of Australia
SINCE 2001, ONGOING CLEAN-UP PROJECTS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE AUSTRALIAN HEADQUARTERED, CLEAN-UP-THE-WORLD PROGRAM
