per dollar, "and the national board has
mandated that we reach 70 cents by
2001."
The JNF received $33 million in
donations from the U.S. in fiscal
1999, with about $330,000 coming
from contributors in the Detroit area.
That's down from $500,000 a few
years ago.
"We're confident that all
of the changes we've put
into effect will help increase
donations," Krosnick said.
"Our aim is fiscal responsi-
bility and accountability to
donors. Ratification of the
revisions to our new consti-
tution (done on Dec. 13)
gave us more lay oversight.
It puts more local board
Robert H
members on the national
Schwartz: local
board. That will help
JNF president
immensely."

"Our duties here have been alleviat-
by the fact that the tree operation
centralized, with the tree certifi-
tes now coming from the East or
est coasts," Alekman added. "We
fer people to a national tree-ordering
mber (1-800-542-TREE) or our
tional Web site (wvvvv.jnf.org) and
ey take care of it.
V,
member .... the $10 and
0 tree donors are the core
the JNF charity
aintaining reforestation —
at's still our bread and but-

Alekman and Smith report
their boss Krosnick, who is
ed in Chicago. He oversees
erations in 15 Midwest
tes as head of one of the
ven JNF zones. Frequent
sits to the local office are
e homecomings for
osnick, who grew up in
ak Park. He honed his fund-raising
at the Jewish Federation of
etropolitan Detroit, then the United
wish Appeal in Chicago and the
hicago Federation before joining
F last February.
The Michigan Region president is
uthfield attorney Robert H.
hwartz, who took over the top spot
o years ago, and -runs an executive
and of 20 local Jewish leaders, plus
honorary board. "We meet a few
mes 'monthly and coordinate our
orts closely with Krosnick," said
hwartz.
"The fact that we no longer have
executive director makes the
oard's work even more important,"
chwartz said. "We're aiming for more
odern fund-raising techniques, such
telemarketing, and we want to do
ore with the Zionist organizations
d the religious schools."
The JNF uses the holiday of Tu
'Shevat to distribute informational
aterials to children.
Schwartz has been involved in
wish charities most of his life, but
ore strongly with the JNF in the
ast five years. "It's the organization
ith the least politics and the one that
enefits Israel the most," he said.
"That's the key element of JNF —
nding as much money as possible to
rael," echoed Krosnick. "Our goal is
give $1 million per month to Israel,
ut that dipped during the past two
ears because of the reorganization,
d Israel received only $12 million.
t that time, only 20 cents of every
ollar raised -went to Israel." He said
e amount has now risen to 50 cents

•

Past .Antl. Present

,1
Meanwhile, the little
blue boxes with the coin
slot on top are stacked
neatly in the local JNF
office, waiting to go out t
with any visitor, a throw- Le3
back to Jewish history.
JNF was founded in
g
1901 as a spin-off of
Theodor Herzl's Fifth
Zionist Congress in Basle, ,
Switzerland, in 1887. It
began acquiring land in
Israel, and now owns 23
percent of Israel's land out-
right. Since its inception,
the JNF has planted more
than 200 million trees,
developed 300,000 acres of
woodlands, created 440 major parks
and picnic areas, and reclaimed
875,000 acres of difficult terrain —
from the rocky Galilee area to the
desert region of the Negev. Israel is
the only country in the world that
will enter the 21st century with a net
gain in trees.
"We own the land, so we are
responsible for taking care of the land,"
Krosnick said. "But times have
changed and planting trees alone isn't
enough anymore. Those blue boxes lit-
erally bought the land. Then, we were
way ahead of the current environmen-
tal theories with our massive tree-plant-
ing program over the years. The biggest
problem in Israel now is the scarcity of
water, which is at crisis stage because of
the worst drought in 60 years."
GUARDIAN on page 10

Four Generations Of Giving

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News

eraldine Posen Schwartz,
who composes classical
music, has helped orches-
trate four generations of
family involvement in donating to the
ewish atiOnat

" Ittfr,„

that the JNF had "done wonders for
many years" and was deserving of con-
tinued support. She served several
terms as local president of Women of
JNF
Libbie Posen "was always 'talking
up' the JNF, telling everyone about all
of the g ood things that the-fund did
schw
en
a tt i

•

;W I

in Israel
last summer.
"It's been a real

6.0

Above: Albelt-
dedicated a

•.„

w4t.
daughter Esther
Katzenstein of Beverly
and her three c hil
dren, and other family
members and friends.
The deOication was
th the bar
done in con j
mitzvah at "M'
tzenstein. JN.
grandson, Jos
trees were pur
for him
g
ks iii
Du $1,'
`'
the f

osen
:ki•,(4-/
Laurin
ter Esther
Katzenstein, an grandchildren
Megan and Joshua Katzenstein.

,

family thing," said Schwariz, a pianist
and singer who has been composing
chamber music for many years. (She
is not related to JNF/Michigan
Region President Robert H.
S ch war tz,)
Her mother, who first got the fami-
ly involved, was a "traditional Jewish
homemaker and active Zionist, who
was instrumental in fund-raising for
the JNF her entire adult life. Now the
tradition is being carried on by myself
and my children and grandchildren.'
The forests and groves in Israel
purchased by family and friends
include donations for siinchas, tributes
and memorials.
Schwa.rtz's mother, Libbie Posen,
who died two years ago at age 93, was
the driving force behind the contribu-
tion campaign, always pointing out

n

's\rs

.

J

(Sc wartz
bir
as a son,
S
is an a rney, plus two more
children.
"It really doesn't\ Make any differ-,
ce whether the money goes for tre
roads, reservoirs, dams, water re
po llution control, or an
ease as long as it goes to Israel .an
nation, " Schwartz !al:mi.,.
1 the
ow ,
other would have f elt
t h
same

1/21
2000

7

