Delegates who attended this year’s recent JNF World Leadership Conference toured the Mount Carmel forest to see the damage from the December fire and met with the country’s top forestry experts.

“[JNF] is working with a team of scientists and foresters to determine the best way to help rebuild the forest,” said Josh Cooper, executive director of JNF Toronto. “We want to get more Canadians thinking about the future protection of Israel’s forests.”

The organization’s immediate priority is the purchase of more equipment, including fire trucks and hoses, that was sorely lacking in December. “We need to make sure we’re ready for the next one,” said Cooper.

The Keren Kameyeth L’Yisrael-Jewish National Fund’s conference in Israel, from March 27 to April 1, attracted leaders from 32 countries. The conference, the organization’s sixth, marked its 110th anniversary. Among the delegates were a dozen Canadian representatives, from Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.

Montrealer Joe Rabinovich, executive vice-president of JNF Canada, said JNF has had offices in Canada more than 60 years, and that Canada is the third-largest JNF fundraiser on a per capita basis, after Switzerland and Australia. “We are quite proud of what we do,” he said.

The jam-packed five-day event took delegates across Israel to visit past JNF projects and learn about new ones.

The organization is continuing its construction projects in the Negev and Arava. Delegates visited Halutza, an organic farming community developed by the JNF for families that left the Gaza Strip during the disengagement of 2005.

Cooper was moved by his visit to Halutza. “It was the most tremendous thing we saw. We are literally building a city – with water, electricity, roads, schools, a synagogue – in the sand, on land that has been uninhabited since the beginning of time,” he said.

Many people think JNF is just about planting trees, he said. “Though we’re very proud of our… tree-planting roots, JNF is one of the only organizations that existed before the establishment of the state. There is now such a range of things that JNF is involved in. We are literally building the country. Every aspect of what it takes to build and maintain the country.”

Cooper was not the only Canadian delegate moved by Halutza. “They have turned the desert green,” said Jerry Werger, former president and current chairman of the JNF board in Toronto. “We like what we see happening there.”

Mel Lazareck, president of JNF Prairie region, agreed. “They are doing fantastic work in the Negev. They are almost single-handedly responsible for developing the Negev. It is green because of JNF.”

The organization is also involved in boosting the country’s image, including dealing with anti-Israel and anti-JNF propaganda.

For Lazareck, who in addition to his role with the JNF serves as Manitoba’s special representative to Israel for economic and community relations, this issue is of utmost importance.

“Perception of Israel is rated among the lowest in the world, and JNF is trying to change that through a branding program involving many of the positive things that are going on here,” said Lazareck, who came to Israel ahead of the conference for a series of meetings with various environmental, medical and technological companies. He was aiming to strengthen existing ties and establish new ones between Israel and Manitoba.

“In my experience, no one comes to Israel and leaves with the same ideas and attitudes. The thing to do is to bring more people here,” Lazareck added.

The JNF is working to solve many challenges facing Israel today, including combating the country’s water crisis by constructing reservoirs and upgrading water recycling programs, developing communities, restoring important historical sites, sponsoring research and development, and investing in tourism and recreation. “We really cover every aspect of Israel. There is no one else that can lay claim to Israel the way JNF does. At the end of the day, everything we do is about Israel. JNF is 100 per cent Israel,” Cooper said.

The conference gave Canadian delegates an opportunity to meet and learn from other JNF chapters. “We learn from each other, share best practices, talk about what works, and what doesn’t,” said Cooper, who ran a session on young leadership.

Lazareck intends to take one idea that he learned about from JNF America back with him to Manitoba. JNF America has developed a great relationship with the US Forest Service, he said, which funds JNF in exchange for Israeli forestry expertise.

“Who would ever think that the department of forestry would take an interest in Israel? But as a matter of fact, they were so impressed with Israel’s ability to grow trees anywhere, they’re implementing [Israeli techniques] in arid parts of the U.S.,” said Lazareck.

He intends to bring a similar JNF-government co-operation model back to Manitoba, which boasts huge forests and may benefit from Israeli forest-preservation expertise. “We’re going to pursue this, not only provincially, but federally,” he said.

Canadian delegates took more than just practical ideas from their international counterparts. “It was a thrill to meet with delegates from more than 30 countries, all with the same goal of building Israel through JNF,” said Cooper. “Here we were [at the farewell party in Timna Park], all together, Jews from every continent on the planet, dancing and singing and celebrating being Jewish and having Israel.”

Werger added, “I wish we could transport that feeling to an event in Toronto.  The camaraderie has been wonderful. It’s unbelievable how people mesh together. That’s our common bond.”

Rabinovich, who chaired the conference’s summary session, said, “Although we’re from 32 different countries and speak all different languages – German, French, Spanish, English, you name it – there are common factors bringing us together – that we’re all Jewish and we’re all interested in supporting Israel.”