Hello Stop the JNF signatories and supporters,
The international campaign to Stop the JNF is organizing a 5-day fact finding mission in Palestine from December 28, 2011-January 1, 2012.
Initial ideas for the second part of the trip include:
-Planting a garden in Silwan and a village whose orchards have been destroyed with funds raised through the Stop the JNF campaign Plant-a-Tree in Palestine project that is a collaboration with the Palestine Farmers Collective and Stop the Wall in the West Bank.
-Visiting the Galilee to document current JNF constructions and visit Lake Hula that was destroyed by the JNF
-Visiting the Golan Heights to document the Israeli control of water and occupation of Syria
-Spending time at Independence Park/The JFK Memorial to document organizations that partnered with the US government to establish a park on over 5 Palestinian villages
If you'd like more information, please feel free to email us at: us@stopthejnf.org.
Basically, Stop the JNF aims to educate people about the Jewish National Fund and revoke its charitable status. Stop the JNF Factsheet
The JNF describes itself as a "charitable organization specializing in development of Israeli land and infrastructure, especially planting trees."
It's no accident that these forests and parks have been planted over the remains of Palestinian villages, physically erasing the memory of those who lived there before 1948. And they're developing the Jordan Valley, which accounts for 30% of the West Bank, and calling it Israel. wtf?
I don't understand this annexation of the Jordan Valley thing. Netanyahu said Israel will never cede the Jordan Valley, so does that mean he's annexed it already? Or he's just getting ready to annex it, and will declare said annexation at a time when it won't cause the most uproar? The next US election day?
I wonder if the Jordan Valley will ever be un-occupied. I wonder if Sadiq and the cadets-in-training in Jericho will ever be able to convince the world that they're indeed capable of guarding the Jordan-Palestine border, so Israel won't have an excuse to grab the entire valley.
Al Aqaba would be annexed.
Sadly, the JNF has charity status in over 50 countries, including the US, even though it's a state-funded program. The problem is....the name. "What, you don't support the Jewish National Fund? You must not support Jews!"
In response to British PM David Cameron's decision to step down as honorary patron of the JNF, a refugee in Aida Camp in Bethlehem responded that he was "delighted to hear the news that the British Prime Minister has decided to withdraw his support for this sinister organization involved in ethnic cleansing. My village, Ajjur, was taken by force from my family and given to the JNF who used money from JNF UK to plant the British Park on its ruins."
This is a place where people can go and learn about the Jordan Valley as if it were Palestinian-free. Creepy. Jordan Valley Solidarity-The Jordan Valley Meeting Point-The Jewish National Fund's Racist Alternative Reality
Here's an interesting video of a Stop the JNF action. A few activists crashed a JNF fundraiser...
