Jewish National Fund kicks off a new community campaign in Lawrence

A discussion of global issues and Israel with Brooklyn boys and renowned lawyers Benjamin Brafman and Alan Dershowitz, and two new Jewish state advocates becoming more visible highlighted the Jewish National Fund’s Community Campaign kickoff at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence on Nov. 11.

The JNF, founded in 1901, has planted more than 250 million trees, built more than 250 reservoirs and dams, developed over 250,000 acres, created more than 2,000 parks and provided the infrastructure for more than 1,000 communities, all in Palestine, which became Israel in 1948. To keep children safe from missile attacks, the JNF recently built an indoor playground near Gaza. “[The event] is being used to build awareness and raise money for the Jewish National Fund in the Five Towns and the surrounding communities” said Sharona Thall, JNF’s campaign executive.

On the weekend that coincided with the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when on Nov. 8-9 in 1938, Germans attacked Jewish businesses, homes and synagogues, that signaled the start of the Holocaust, and Veterans Day on Sunday, Beth Sholom Rabbi Kenneth Hain noted that the “Jewish National Fund is thinking about where Jews will live,” even during “this time of turbulence, violence and stress.”

The JNF aims to attract 500,000 people into the Negev Desert that makes up 60 percent of Israel. Most people in the Jewish state live in the Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv corridor. The group also seeks to draw 300,000 people into north Israel. To achieve both goals, much more money will be needed that typically fits in the blue JNF boxes that are ubiquitous in many Jewish institutions.

Brafman and Dershowitz kibitzed on how they were not the best yeshiva students, as Brafman asked prepared questions and Dershowitz, also a professor, showed why he, like Brafman, is at the top of the legal eagle list.
Saying that Israel is a “lawfully created country, Dershowitz said it is, “defended by the sword, but it was created by the pen,” noting the Balfour Declaration and multiple United Nations resolutions.

Touching on the Trump debate, Dershowitz said that he “keeps supports for Israel a bipartisan issue,” noting that he voted for Barack Obama and disagrees with the Iran nuclear deal and was not happy that Obama didn’t denounce the anti-Israel UN resolutions. He supports Trump’s move of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “No matter the president I’m giving my advice on a peace plan,” said Dershowitz, who has advised presidents on Israel since Clinton.

The program was cut short because Dershowitz’s mother-in-law died. She was 99. “The Jewish National Fund is so important, no organization is more important in building Israel,” he said, making his pitch for the JNF, before leaving for South Carolina.

Recognized during the program, Mark and Sharon Ingber are becoming more visible and vocal. The parents of Abigail Ingber, the University of Michigan student who battled back after Professor John Cheney-Lippold declined to write her a letter of recommendation to study in Israel. The university disciplined Cheney-Lippold.

“We’ve decided to speak about this,” said Mark, who is also a lawyer. He added there is a speaking engagement in New Jersey and one is being planned for Long Island. “This happened two months ago and it has stayed alive and gone international.” Both said they were not surprised that Abigail stood up to the professor because of her strong Jewish background that includes her maternal grandmother, Molly Eichler, who was the first woman synagogue president in New Jersey.

To donate, go to jnf.org.