JNF Mediation Row
Hope for an amicable settlement between British JNF and its Israeli counterpart received a blow this week after officials on the Israeli side insisted they would not meet if the British charity’s President was present.
The two sides met in the High Court last week as the UK-based JNF, which is properly known as the JNF Charitable Trust (JNFCT), sought to prevent Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael from using the JNF brand name in the UK.
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The hearing followed a high-profile and ill-tempered split between the two bodies last month over how much money JNFCT was providing to the Israeli organisation.
The dispute revolves around Keren’s decision to set up a new UK fundraising arm under the name KKL-JNF. Both names are currently used by JNFCT as well.
Following the hearing, the Israeli charity offered to meet JNFCT’s trustees but later made clear that its President, Gail Seal, who also serves as a trustee, would not be welcome.
A spokesman for Keren told TJ: “It wouldn’t be acceptable to have mediation with the current President of JNFCT present.”
Despite Gail Seal expressing her “delight” in accepting the offer in a letter to the Keren Vice President Michael Adari on Monday, JNFCT said it had been forced to reconsider in light of the condition set by the Israelis, which only became clear subsequently.
A spokesman for JNFCT said: “We’re very concerned at how genuine the original offer of mediation was, because as soon as we accepted it fully, and with no preconditions, the goalposts shifted. So, we’ll have to consider our position.”
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