Supporting the KKL-JNF’s Judea and Samaria policies - opinion

Imagine the chutzpah! Enhancing the lives of Jews who live in a place called Judea. What a crime! 

My sarcasm is obvious, but sadly, numerous left-wing organizations in Israel and abroad are calling for heads to roll, as the organization – founded by Theodor Herzl himself in 1901 during the Fifth Zionist Congress – might soon be voting to publicly support land purchases in “Area C” of Judea and Samaria in order to help expand Jewish communities in those areas. 

The Jerusalem Post’s Tovah Lazaroff reported that plans to openly purchase land from Palestinian Authority Arabs was approved by the group’s executive committee but that full board approval is pending. She said a vote will likely take place after Israel’s March 23 elections. 

According to KKL-JNF, despite the original media leaks, “Throughout the years and until this very day, KKL-JNF has been operating in all parts of the Land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria.” In addition, the organization says that in terms of a potential change in policy, up until now “just a primary discussion on general policy” was held at a meeting several weeks ago, and nothing official was decided upon. 

Nevertheless, that did not stop the Union for Reform Judaism, along with a J Street big wig, from vociferously condemning on these very pages and others, KKL-JNF’s rumored changes. The Post reported that the Reform movement in Israel has even threatened to file a petition with the High Court of Justice against the move. 

Union for Reform Judaism president Rabbi Rick Jacobs released a statement indicating that his group is against “the proliferation of settlements because they endanger the possibility of a two-state solution,” adding that Israel’s “settlement” policies “undermine the safety, security and moral character of our Jewish homeland.” 

Assuming a KKL-JNF vote will lead to the changes feared by Jacobs, including the endangerment of a two-state solution, then my response would be a resounding “Hallelujah!” 

FOR YEARS, Israel went down the path of territorial concessions for promises of peace, eventually leading to the notion that Israel would be willing to recognize a PA-controlled state west of the Jordan River. And with every land withdrawal, whether in Judea, Samaria or Gaza, instead of peace, Israel got nothing but terrorism and bloodshed. 

Every inch that Israel gave away became territory used by our enemies to fire rockets, carry out shootings, or plot the next suicide bombing attack in our major cities. How can anyone argue in good faith that a PA state in our heartland would contribute to safety and security? 

The people of Israel eventually had enough of these “peace gestures,” as proven by election after election with Right and right-of-center victories, with those parties that favor further Israeli withdrawals either scraping to pass the electoral threshold, or finding themselves with little to no chance of forming a government, even with their combined mandates. 

In other words, despite a potential Biden administration revival attempt, the two-state solution plan has died and deserves a proper burial, once and for all. 

In terms of Israel’s “moral character,” how would it be immoral for Jews to build homes, nursery schools and playgrounds on land legally purchased by a reputable organization in order to fulfill the Zionist vision? 

Would a Judenrein state run by a group of corrupt PLO/Fatah goons and terrorism-supporters who discriminate against minorities serve as a bastion for the morality that Jacobs and others seek? And how long would it take until Hamas took over such an entity, as they did in Gaza? 

All of that might not be part of Jacobs’s naive utopian vision, but that certainly would become the reality. 

I do not know at this point how the KKL-JNF plans on acquiring additional lands in Judea and Samaria from Arabs under the PA, as selling land to Jews is a crime punishable by long-term prison sentences, hard labor or execution. 

But what I do know is that if the KKL-JNF starts openly promoting the purchasing of property and the development of communities in Judea and Samaria, such activities should be supported, and not condemned. A true fulfillment of the organization’s vision, which started over a century ago, would be to witness a thriving Jewish presence in all areas under Israel’s jurisdiction.