Can a forest erase the history of a vanished village?
In short: The Jewish National Fund (JNF) has planted over 240 million trees across Israel, transforming arid landscapes into lush forests. But beyond the ecological shift, these trees have served a profound political purpose: some were intentionally used to cover up the physical traces of depopulated Palestinian villages.
Founded in 1901, the JNF was established to purchase land and encourage Jewish settlement. By 2007, it owned 13% of Israel's total land. Its early operations were defined by a policy of long-term leasing rather than selling, positioning the organization as a trustee of the land. This mission was supported by the 'blue box' (pushke), a collection box used by the diaspora to fund afforestation and infrastructure, including 180 dams and 250,000 acres of developed land.
The organization's role in landscape engineering is deeply intertwined with the 1948 Nakba. Historian Benny Morris notes that under the supervision of Yosef Weitz, the JNF's afforestation project was designed not just for decoration, but to mask the destruction of Palestinian villages and deter the return of refugees. Critics argue that the replacement of indigenous olive trees with non-native pines and cypress trees served to erase the Arab presence prior to 1948, while also creating fire hazards and using toxic herbicides.
The JNF's influence remains significant today. In 1953, it was reorganized as an Israeli company, and by 1960, the government transferred much of its land management to the Israel Land Administration (ILA). Nevertheless, by securing the power to appoint 10 out of 22 ILA board members, the JNF-KKL gained considerable influence regarding national land strategy. While the JNF has faced criticism for its role in settlement construction and the displacement of Bedouins, it also manages critical water infrastructure, investing over $114.99 million in reservoirs to address Israel's water shortages.
In a move toward transparency, the JNF announced in 2008 that historical plaques in its parks would begin to cite the names of the Arab villages formerly located in those areas. This reflects a complex duality: an organization that functions as a primary architect of the modern Israeli landscape while grappling with the historical and ecological consequences of its environmental engineering.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Jewish National Fund
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