Truah campaign to stop JNF support for settlements
Israel

Truah to JNF: Reveal your settlement funding

Our friends at Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights just released this School House Rock parody video as part of a new campaign to asking supporters to tweet messages to @JNFUSA and sign a letter to JNF-USA CEO Russell F. Robinson asking him to commit to being transparent about how much of the approximately $100 million JNF raises in the United States each year goes to settlements over the Green Line:

“When our dollar bills disappear into the JNF pushke—or into the coffers of any organization directing money to Israel—we need to know that this money is going toward building Israel, not to settlements that threaten Israel’s security and violate the human rights of Palestinians,” said T’ruah’s Executive Director Rabbi Jill Jacobs.

Truah campaign to stop JNF support for settlements
Truah campaign to stop JNF support for settlements
The campaign sets the “Moses Standard” based on a midrash of the Israelites asking Moses how their donations to the Tabernacle were being used:

“If Moses could ensure that all his financial records were fully transparent, then we should expect nothing less from a Jewish organization like the JNF which has held our people’s sacred trust for over 100 years,” said T’ruah’s Board Co-Chair Rabbi Eric Solomon, “Why should the JNF be afraid to share where our money goes after it leaves the little blue box?”

Truah has extended its call for transparency beyond JNF to all organizations that donate to Israel. They recommend asking these three questions before investing or donating:

  1. Will my money strengthen Israel’s democracy and civil society? Will it move us closer to peace?
  2. Will any of my money go to settlements or to projects over the Green Line?
  3. How can I be sure? How do you track where the money goes? Do any grants go to subsidiary organizations or intermediaries? How do you ensure that these groups don’t invest in settlements?

In addition to the School House Rock parody, Truah has provided a full toolkit for educators with Jewish texts and snarky captioned photos for your social media sharing (see at right).
You can find the complete educators resources and social media tools at http://www.truah.org/eifogeorge.

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