KKL- JNF chairman discusses effects of corona on Israel 2040 plan
Danny Atar, world chairman and CEO of KKL- JNF, addressed The Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in a video interview with Steve Linde, editorinchief of The Jerusalem Report. Atar described the efforts of KKL- JNF to provide assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, and said that “as an organization that has always stood by the state and the Jewish people, we are standing with the country and trying to help as best we can, by assisting families in distress and helping Holocaust survivors.”
Atar provided an update on “Israel 2040,” the organization’s flagship program that promises to bring 1,000,000 new residents to the Negev and 500,000 new residents to the Galilee, via the creation of hi- tech centers of employment. He explained that, in some ways, the COVID- 19 pandemic has held back progress, while in others, it has led to accelerated development. “Our partnership with the Economy
Ministry and Amir Peretz, minister of the economy, in creating joint procedures with the ministry of the economy and KKL- JNF is working at a much faster pace,” he said. KKL- JNF is building partnerships between the business world and the State of Israel to bring young people to live in the Galilee and the Negev.
Atar’s plan to encourage business investment in Israel 2040 from Jews around the world has slowed somewhat because of the pandemic, but he is optimistic that world Jewry will participate
in the plan and invest in these strategic areas of development. KKL- JNF is encouraging new olim ( immigrants) to move to the Galilee and the Negev, and Atar declares that the Galilee and the Negev are future economic development engines for the State of Israel.
At the conclusion of the interview, Atar noted the vital role KKL- JNF plays in preserving the environment in Israel by planting trees, developing parks and cycling paths and organizing park trails for the entire family.