Americans for Peace Now (APN) opposes today’s decision by the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth Le-Israel) to register properties in the West Bank and the city of Jerusalem, a process that is likely to lead to the eviction of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. APN calls on fellow American Jewish organizations, particularly those who serve on the board of the JNF-KKL, to exercise their influence to ensure that this procedural endeavor does not lead to the eviction of Palestinian families, a process that is certain to have dire humanitarian, political and security repercussions. 

Earlier today, the Board of Directors of the JNF-KKL voted to approve a process of surveying thousands of files pertaining to past purchase deals, including 530 files pertaining to properties in the West Bank and 2,050 in Jerusalem and its environs. The purpose of the process is to register the ownership of these properties. Many of these properties are inhabited by Palestinians, who have called them home for decades. These files are a part of some 17,000 real estate files on both sides of the Green Line, which the JNF-KKL intends to survey over the course of the next five years. 

APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “We were hoping that the JNF-KKL Board would have the wisdom to refrain from passing this plan and opening the floodgates to many future evictions of Palestinians. Unfortunately, it did not. As Prime Minister Bennett heard from President Biden in the Oval Office last week, Israeli eviction of Palestinians is a serious humanitarian, security and political concern, which could mushroom into a regional crisis and further complicate future efforts to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement. To prevent that, we urge those American Jewish groups who work jointly with the JNF-KKL to make clear that our community is opposed to any further evictions and will not stand quietly by should they move forward.”