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Feb. 9, 2007
Passing on tradition
Dinner encourages new generation of donors.
RON FRIEDMAN
Chickpea soup, seared tuna and green falafel were among the items
served at the Taste of Israel Tu b'Shevat celebration dinner organized
by the Jewish National Fund last Sunday. Guests were offered a seven-course
meal prepared by top Israeli chefs in a social gathering at the
Vancouver home of Marie Doduck.
Taste of Israel is a joint program of the JNF and Israel's Dan Hotel
chain, aimed at connecting the Jewish community with gourmet Israeli
cooking. Two of the chain's top chefs, Arik Porath and Ovad Alfieh,
are currently on a 10-city tour of Canada. Vancouver was their third
stop after Winnipeg and Ottawa, where they prepared a feast for
members of the Canadian Parliament.
But the evening wasn't only about the food. JNF organizers, whose
activities in Vancouver focus mostly on fund-raising, hope to bring
younger people into the fold and acquaint them with the JNF's values.
"This evening is more of a social event, meant to bring into
the circle the second generation of donors in Vancouver," said
JNF emissary Aharon Lapidot. "We want the younger generation
to be more involved in contributing to Israel."
"Whereas JNF has predominantly had supporters from the older
generation – people who had grown up with the JNF and maybe
even come from Europe, and 'put their penny in the pushka' as children
– we thought we would have an evening catering specifically
to the younger generation of the Vancouver community," said
JNF Pacific Region president Harvey Dales.
"I think people donate to what is meaningful to them but also
to what is familiar. I feel that when they donate, people want to
feel connected to the organization," said guest and JNF board
member Allen Gaerber, whose grandfather, Morris Jacobson, was made
a JNF honoree 40 years ago and who hopes to pass on the tradition
to his own children.
JNF has been around for more than 100 years and has played a big
part in the formation of the state of Israel. Probably every Jew
is familiar with the characteristic blue and white donations boxes
used to collect contributions.
In the wake of last summer's war with Hezbollah, the JNF launched
a fund-raising drive called Operation Security Blanket. "We
lost about a million trees as a result of the Katyusha bombs fired
at us by the Hezbollah," said Lapidot. "While we were
happy to hear that they didn't hit populated areas, they did hit
the forest and destroyed about 70 per cent of the forest in the
north. Operation Security Blanket is a project that will cost about
$50 million to rehabilitate the forest. It will take about 50-60
years to get it back to the same situation as we had before."
Aside from their well-known work in forestation, these days the
JNF is active on many fronts, including the building of infrastructure
such as water reservoirs and water recycling facilities, as well
as land development in the south of Israel. The JNF is also embarking
on a project to help settle the Negev.
"Israel, after the withdrawal from Gaza, needs more places
for people to live, so our objective is to raise money to provide
infrastructure for the Negev to build communities," said Dales.
"Coupled with the destruction from the war in the north, we
now have a dual goal: rebuilding what we thought we'd already completed,
together with preparing the Negev for the future."
"We hope that by providing a unique environment, we can get
people to be more involved in the activities of the JNF and hopefully
continue in their parents' tradition of generous contribution to
a worthy cause," said event co-chair Evelyn Goldman.
Ron Friedman is a student in the journalism master's program
at the University of British Columbia.
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