Several Members of the European Parliament said the ‘’outstanding work and expertise’’ of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), the largest environmental organization in Israel, need to be shared and promoted in Europe, during the first-ever session the organization held Tuesday in the parliament in Brussels as part of its European Leadership Conference.
‘’There so much for us to learn from Israel and in particular from KKL-JNF,’’ said Italian MEP Fiorello Provera, Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commuittee, who hosted the session.
In his open remarks to the session titled ‘’Ecology and Innovation as a mean of multilateral cooperation”, Provera said : ‘’The range of KKL’s activities is truly outstanding. The organisation is known for planting trees. This is particularly important since many governments and people around the world are responsible for destroying the rainforests. On the other hand the KKL is working to reverse this trend. KKL is also responsible for constructing dams, investing in water conservation projects, educating people on the environment, carrying out agricultural research and developing the Negev for communities to settle. ‘’
‘’I consider myself to be a devoted friend of Israel and during my time as vice-chair of the foreign affairs committee, I have actively worked to promote the excellent work that Israel is doing in the field of science and technology, medicine and agriculture.’’
He continued : ‘’It never fails to impress me how this small country is able to come up with such cutting-edge innovations. It is no wonder that it is known as the Start-Up nation.’’
But he also deplored the fact that '' Israel is confronted with many political barriers, which are imposed for ideological reasons.’’
He assured the audience that he will ‘’continue to promote the excellent work of the KKL and other organisations that seek to find answers to environmental challenges.’’
Other MEPs present at the session were Sari Essayah from Finland, Bastiaan Belder from Holland, who chairs the European Parliament delegation for relations with Israel, and Nikolaos Salavrakos from Greece.
KKL-JNF World Chairman and Co-Chairman, Efi Stenzler and Eli Aflalo, who described the history and evolution of the green organization, created in 1901, spoke about this session as an ‘’historic moment’’ for KKL-JNF in the European Parliament, as it is actively working on sharing its knowledge and developing projects with various European bodies, including also the European Commission, and NGO’s, especially in the fields of forestry, combatting desertification, water management and agriculture research.
‘’We are active in a range of different spheres but mainly for the betterment of the state of Israel for all of its residents,’’ Stenzler said, dismissing in particular those ‘’who do not hesitate to disseminate false propaganda about KKL-JNF’s attitude towards Arab Israelis and challenge the legitimacy of the State of Israel.’’ ‘
‘’The truth is exactly the opposite. We are doing everything and we invest tremendous resources in improving the environment in and around Arab towns as well,’’ he said, citing the example of the Bedouin city of Hura in the Negev ''where we are establishing a sophisticated eco-village. ‘’This innovative socio-ecological project will integrate principles of sustainable development in accordance with the Bedouin tradition.’’
The two-day KKL’s 2014 European Leadership Conference, which saw the participation of delegates from 18 countries, focused on a discussion on the next decade of activities involving especially the organization's young leadership, international cooperation and ecological innovation.