Last week, the Israeli Left raised an outcry over the amendment to the Israel Land Authority Act aimed at ensuring that the Authority would manage Jewish National Fund (JNF) lands in accordance with the Fund's guiding principals - namely, to lease them out exclusively for Jewish settlement. Meretz party activists like MK Chaim Oron called the
The Israeli Left raised an outcry over the amendment to the Israel Land Authority Act.
amendment racist, prompting this author to remind both them and the public of several important facts.

A certain political leader had this to say about JNF land, "The JNF land, purchased with the money of the Jewish people, is sacred for Jewish settlement, just as the Muslim waqf is sacred for addressing the social needs of the Muslim community...." This statement was not made by MK Benny Elon, nor even by Binyamin Netanyahu, but by Yaakov Chazan, the founder and chairman of Mapam, the predecessor of Meretz.

The amendment to the Israel Land Authority Act is consistent with Chazan's principles. The amendment makes it possible to maintain JNF land for the very purpose for which Jews throughout the world collected pennies in the little blue box - to settle fellow Jews in the Land of Israel.

Anyone calling this amendment racist either thinks Zionism is racism (an expected claim coming from Ahmed Tibi, Wassel Taha, and the rest of Azmi Bishara's associates), or completely misunderstands the current legal reality and misses the point of the amendment.

Over the years, the JNF acquired land, managed it by itself and leased it to Jewish communities. After the establishment of the state, the Israeli government, which suffered from a negative cash flow, sold the JNF some 300,000 to 400,000 acres of land that previously belonged to refugees who had left the State of Israel after its inception. The JNF reimbursed the state and provided significant funds for Israel's empty treasury.

After the establishment of the state, the JNF was incorporated as a private Israeli company, in accordance with the Jewish National Fund Act 5714-1954, and continued managing its property. In 1960, the Knesset passed three new laws, revamping land legislation. The law defined the land belonging to the JNF, the state, and the Development Authority as "Israel Land" and entrusted it into the hands of the Israel Land Authority (ILA). Consequently, a government agency was appointed to manage the JNF property.

The ILA committed itself to managing the land in accordance with JNF goals; namely, expanding Jewish settlement. The commitment was anchored in an agreement between the JNF and the ILA. Everything worked fine until the Fall of 2005, when, following a petition by the Adallah Arab rights organization, the Attorney General wrote in an opinion presented to the High Court of Justice that the ILA could no longer manage JNF property in accordance with the latter's goals. In the view of Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, the ILA had to lease the property under its management, including that belonging to the
Mazuz reneged on the commitment made by the state to the JNF.
JNF, to any applicant. By doing so, Mazuz reneged on the commitment made by the state to the JNF - and on Chazan's vision that lands purchased with the money of the Jewish people were sacrosanct for Jewish settlement.

The current amendment establishes a legal basis for the ILA to manage JNF property purchased with the money of the Jewish people for the purposes of Jewish settlement. It is thus aimed at preserving the status quo that existed prior to Mazuz's opinion. This amendment intends to circumvent the Attorney General, not the High Court of Justice. In no way does it undermine the state's responsibility to lease land to all those who need it. It does, however, affirm that the state should not perform its responsibilities at the expense of the JNF.

While the State of Israel must act for the benefit of all its citizens, the JNF is under no obligation to encourage non-Jewish settlement. If this is racism, than so is the entire Zionist movement, including Yaakov Chazan and Mapam. MK Oron should keep that in mind.

Attorney Itzhak Bam drafted on behalf of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, of which he is a member, the Land Authority amendment proposed by MK Uri Ariel and others, which was approved in a preliminary reading on Wednesday July 18, 2007 by an overwhelming majority.