Our History
JNF UK’s origins lie in the founding of the Jewish National Fund (JNF/KKL) at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel in 1901. During Congress, delegates debated whether to establish a national fund to buy and develop land in what was then Ottoman Palestine. After intense hesitation, Theodor Herzl issued his famous plea: “After striving for so many years to set up the fund, we do not want to disperse again without having done anything.”
The motion passed, and the Congress resolved to create the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth LeYisrael) - a fund that would belong to the Jewish people as a whole.
In the years that followed, JNF became a symbol of Jewish national revival, powered by everyday people. One of the most enduring innovations came from Haim Kleinman, a modest bank clerk in Galicia, who suggested creating a tin collection box for the new Fund, and the idea was immediately embraced by JNF’s founders.
These Blue Boxes were soon distributed to homes, synagogues, businesses, factories, schools and community organisations around the world, becoming the most recognisable emblem of the Jewish National Fund. They turned small daily acts of giving into a global movement that helped build the foundations of the modern State of Israel.
Other early fundraising efforts in Britain were equally grassroots. The first JNF donation from British Jewry was raised when Rabbi Jacob Koppel Goldbloom polished 12 pairs of shoes of Congress members on their train journey home from Basel, donating the proceeds to the new Fund.
JNF Takes Root in Britain
JNF activity began in England in 1905, and by 1908 a dedicated Jewish National Fund Commission for England had been established. Volunteers organised door-to-door collections, lectures, concerts, synagogue appeals, and, starting in 1913, the hugely popular Flower Day, when 95,000 blue-and-white flowers were sold in cities across the UK.
These efforts helped embed the JNF mission deep within British Jewish communal life.
From British Mandate to British Charity
The body that coordinated JNF activity in Britain eventually became the Jewish National Fund for Israel in Great Britain and Ireland, the direct precursor to today’s JNF UK.
JNF UK was formally incorporated in July 1939 as an independent British charity.
Although JNF UK shares historic roots with KKL-JNF, it has always been a fully separate organisation, not a branch or subsidiary of KKL or any other JNF worldwide.
A Legacy of Nation-Building
For more than 80 years, JNF UK has been at the forefront of developing Israel’s land and strengthening its communities. Our historic achievements include:
trees planted
reservoirs and dams built
acres of land developed
parks created
communities supported
From Herzl’s vision in Basel to today’s work across Israel’s periphery, JNF UK remains committed to shaping a strong and thriving Jewish homeland.