Jews urged to boot U.N., Arab squatters

Last week, I correctly reported hundreds of acres of lands in Jerusalem owned by an international Jewish organization and purchased using Jewish donor funds for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement have been used for the illegal construction of dozens of Arab apartment buildings, a refugee camp and a United Nations school.

The Jewish National Fund, an international nonprofit organization that owns the areas in question, has seemingly done little to boot the Arab squatters from its land, while the Israeli government, which manages the areas, did not halt the illegal Arab construction.

There are now entire Arab communities and U.N. facilities for Arabs built upon the Jewish-owned lands in Jerusalem purchased by Jews, for Jews.

The JNF states in its charter it works "on behalf of the Jewish People ... to enable Jewish settlement [throughout Israel]."

TRENDING: Poll: Stunning number say Biden suffers 'cognitive ailment'

In response to my article, JNF CEO Russell Robinson released a letter claiming my piece contained "unverified facts and figures.'' Robinson's letter didn't list any examples of the supposed unverified facts and figures and didn't dispute a single word in my article.

I am hereby publicly challenging the JNF to explain why it allowed the UN and Arab squatters to illegally construct dozens of complexes on its land and am petitioning the esteemed Jewish organization entrusted with Jewish money for the sake of Jewish settlement to tell us what it is doing to rectify the situation.

The full text of Robinson's letter reads:
"It was disturbing to see [the integrity of a media outlet] compromised by unverified facts and figures or even the lack of a mention that they are not facts.

"We appreciate that you've given space to the individual running the Israel Land Fund, a private organization for which no information is available. Now, we'd like you to give some space to a 105-year-old organization whose work has built the State of Israel as we know it.

"Established in 1901 by a people who had nothing but hope and determination, Jewish National Fund has made a land blue and green where once there was only brown. We have built more than 1100 communities across the country, planted 240 million trees, built 180 reservoirs, developed over 250,000 acres of land, created more than 1,000 parks, and educated students around the world about Israel and the environment. We are bringing 500,000 people to the Negev so that all the land of Israel is strong and we are likewise committed to making the North home again.

"JNF has provided the infrastructure for three new communities for the evacuees from Gaza and at the bleakest time in modern history, as 6 million of our brethren were being killed, we created life in our land.

"Not all that we do is beyond reproach and we have been attacked by Palestinians on the Internet, in the media and even at the UN where we are an NGO, for our work. We don't spend time defending ourselves to them; we keep focused on our good work for there is much to be done.

"Since 1901, JNF has been leading the way into the future of the Jewish People – for you, for your children, and for Jews all over the world."

Robinson states my article contains unverified information, but he doesn't offer even one example of these alleged unverified facts and figures. Instead, Robinson goes off into a distracting tangent outlining all the good JNF has done over the years, completely ignoring the issue at hand, namely that Arabs have constructed and are still constructing illegally on JNF property, and that Israel's security fence now blocks off the Jewish donor-purchased land from Jewish sections of Jerusalem, isolating the JNF properties to Arab neighborhoods.

In another distraction not addressing the issue, Robinson writes my article "gave space to the individual running the Israel Land Fund, a private organization for which no information is available."

But that individual, Arieh King, was one of several people quoted in my article; none of the information in the piece relies on him. The information comes from my own investigating, comments from the Israeli government and other sources and personal visits to the JNF sites in question. (As a side note: if you want information on King, do a simple Google search!)

Removing the possibility of any doubt to the contentions in my article, I also obtained and quoted from internal JNF documents outlining all the illegal Arab construction on the Jewish-owned lands in question!

Two weeks prior to the publication of my article, I provided JNF's Israel offices with all the information that would be outlined in the piece, including the internal JNF papers. The JNF office, quoted in my article, didn't contradict a single piece of information.

Mr. Robinson, I challenge you to actually address the issue at hand: Why have Arabs been allowed to illegally construct on JNF-owned property purchased with Jewish donors funds and what is the JNF doing about it?

Illegal Arab construction in Qalandiya (WND Photo)

The properties in question include about 270 acres in the northern Jerusalem neighborhoods of Qalandiya and Kfar Akev, located near an old Israeli airport, and about 50 acres in a north Jerusalem suburb known as Shoafat, which is adjacent to the Jewish neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev.

Palestinians illegally build apartments in Jewish-owned Shoafat (WND photo)

The lands were legally purchased on behalf of JNF using Jewish donations in the early 1900's, immediately after the organization was founded in 1901 with the specific charge of repurchasing and developing the land of Israel for Jewish settlement.

A tour of Qalandiya and Kfar Akev found dozens of Arab apartment complexes, a Palestinian refugee camp and a United Nations school for Palestinians constructed on the land.

U.N. school for Palestinians illegal built on Jewish property (WND photo)

According to officials in Israel's Housing Ministry, Arabs first constructed facilities illegally in Qalandiya and Kfar Akev between 1948 and 1967, prior to the 1967 Six-Day War during which Israel retook control of the entire city of Jerusalem. Qalandiya, still owned by JNF, came under the management of the Israeli government's Land Authority in the late 1960's.

Ministry officials say the bulk of illegal Arab construction in Qalandiya took place in the past 20 years, with construction of several new Arab apartment complexes taking place in just the past two years.

Neither the Israeli government nor JNF took any concrete measures to stop the illegal building, which continues today with at least one apartment complex in Qalandiya under construction.

The Jewish-owned land in Qalandiya has an estimated value of about $35 million, according to Housing Ministry officials.

Jerusalem's Shoafat neighborhood, which has an estimated value of $3 million, was also purchased by JNF in the early 1900's and fell under the management of the Israel Land Authority about 40 years ago. Much of the illegal Arab construction in Shoafat took place in the past 15 years, with some apartment complexes built as late as 2004.

In Qalandiya, Kfar Akev and Shoafat, Israel's security fence cordons off the Arab sections of the JNF lands from the rest of Jewish Jerusalem.

Internal JNF documents obtained by WND outline illegal Arab construction on the Jewish-owned land. A survey of Walandiya summarized on JNF stationery conducted in December 2000 and signed by a JNF worker states, "In a lot of the plots I find Arabs are living and building illegally and also working the JNF land without permission."

The JNF survey goes on to document illegal construction of Arab apartment complexes and the UN school under the property management of Israel's Land Authority.

In an official clarification regarding the status of the Jewish-owned lands, JNF stated, "The documents you obtained show clearly that the manager of these lands is the Israel Land Authority. It is evident that JNF is caring for these lands with inquiries, passing information and much more."

Morton Klein (no family relation to me), national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told me, "Jewish money was given with deep devotion to enable Jews to settle in Israel, and to have these lands instead settled by Arabs is an abomination that JNF must immediately rectify."

"One can almost say this is a fraud being perpetrated on the donors of this land. If the JNF doesn't do something about it, a message will be sent that we don't care that Arabs steal Jewish-donated land. This will only encourage more illegal Arab construction on lands purchased by Jews for Jews," Klein said.

Definitive work on Mideast – available only here!