A message from
A little more than a year ago, Jewish National Fund embarked
on a challenge, a long-term vision: developing the Negev into a
hospitable, habitable, profitable environment that would become
home to an additional 250,000 people.
Blueprint Negev is not a mirage, it is a vision becoming a
reality — with seven new communities created, hundreds of
families moved to the Negev, and new job opportunities.
JNF's Blueprint Negev initiative is essential to Israel's
future. The Negev represents 60% of Israel's landmass, but
only 8% of its population lives there. Overcrowding and a
strain on resources in the center of the country — 92% of
Israel's population resides on 40 % of Israel's land — further
underscore the importance of this plan. Additionally, there are an estimated 170,000 Bedouin in the Negev
whose population is expected to double in the next seven years. But their educational and medical standards
are very low and unemployment hovers at 90%. Opening up the Negev economically will positively impact
their future as well. This is a vision for all of Israel.
Blueprint Negev builds on the extensive work already achieved by KKUJNF. Over 30 JNF reservoirs already
in the Negev translate into 10 billion gallons of water. In Beersheva, new housing and large parks are being
built. Together with the Beersheva Foundation, KKUJNF and the Or Movement are creating a $300 million
consortium of projects that will transform Beersheva into a bustling metropolis.
JNF, together with the Or Movement, has established the Negev Central Information Center, which gathers
up-to-date data on communities, job opportunities, housing, and education. Already, 10,000 names of Israelis
interested in moving to the Negev are in our central database and we have identified 960 new employment
opportunities in the Negev. Today, our vision is turning into a reality.
Blueprint Negev allows us to be 21st century pioneers and to once again be part of a nation under creation.
Twenty-five communities are planned; seven are already established. Residents of Sansana, Harouv, Shomria,
Givot Bar, Be'er Milka, Kmehin, and Merhav Am, the newly established communities, give testament to these
ideals. Our Economic Development Fund helps them finance the move. Our involvement shows our partnership.
Blueprint Negev answers the need for Jews in the Diaspora looking to make aliyah the pioneering way. Nefesh
B'Nefesh has been very successful in bringing highly qualified North American immigrants to Israel, yet many settle
in established communities, seeking an English-speaking population. We are working with them to set up English-
speaking communities in the Negev, such as Carmit, and allow the Diaspora Jew to change the quality of life and
image of the Negev. It doesn't get more pioneering than that.
At Ramon Air Force Base, whose home is already in the Negev, congregations across the U.S. are
participating in a $10 million initiative to build a central park with a 3,000-seat amphitheatre and recycled
FORESTRY • WATER • COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT • SECURITY
EDUCATION • RESEARCH • TOURISM & RECREATION • ECOLOGY
Ronald S. Lauder
water reservoirs. If your congregation has not yet signed on,
be a part of history.
Together with Aleh Negev, we are building a 25-acre,
world class, residential rehabilitative village, to provide
services to the entire Negev population which suffers from
a tremendous shortage of paramedical, therapeutic, and
special education services. The Aleh Negev project will
serve as home to more than 200 adults with disabilities
— meeting their needs throughout their lives — and will
serve an additional 12,000 disabled children and young
adults each year as outpatients. This project, situated near
Ofaqim, will bring 3,000 new jobs to the area.
Young families are calling
Tourism, which will bring even more employment
the Negev home
opportunities, features heavily in our blueprint. Our plans
include building a new bike path in the Southern Arava, with bike rental stations and refreshment centers.
Bird watchers from around the world will flock to Israel, following the migrations of millions of birds, from
world-class centers in Eilat, ul:›to Kibbutz Lotan then north to the Hula Valley.
All of these are examples of our Negev Plan in action, bringing people to the Negev, and creating jobs that
will transform the Negev into a desirable place to live. Our plan encompasses so many projects: building new
communities, revitalizing established towns and cities, bolstering services and opportunities throughout the
region, improving quality of life, and making all this possible by building vital reservoirs. Singly, they are just
projects; together, they form a vision. The Blueprint Negev vision.
Sincerely,
Ronald S. Lauder, President, Jewish National Fund
email: RLauder@jnf.org
P.S. To get a free DVD visit
visit
www.jnf.org/dvd or to learn more
www.jnf.org or call 888-JNF-0099.
JNF, for
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Jose Limon Dance Company
Lar Lubovitch artistic associate
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 8 PM
SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 1 PM
[One-hour Family Performance]
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2 PM
Power Center
Mexican-born choreographer Jose
Limon was a pioneer of modern dance
whose works are recognized as American
masterpieces. His company returns to
Ann Arbor for the first time since 1969 to
perform three mostly different programs of
classic Limon works and new commissions
by contemporary choreographers. "For
THREE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, INCLUDING:
Evening Songs OH Kylian, Dvorak songs) (1997)
Angelitos Negros (Donald McKayle, Manuel Alvarez Maciste) (1972)
Chaconne (Jose Limon, J.S. Bach) (1942)
The Moor's Pavane (Jose Limon, Henry Purcell) (1949)
Concerto Six Twenty-Two (Lar Lubovitch, Mozart) (1986)
A Choreographic Offering (Jose Limon, J.S. Bach) (1964)
Recordare (Lar Lubovitch, Elliot Goldenthal, (2005)
drama, virtuosity, and grace, there's no
finer company." ( The Village Voice)
The Jose Lim6n Residency is presented
with support from
DA1NILERGHRYSLER
DahnierChry-ster Corporation Fund
Funded in part by the National Dance Project
of the New England Foundation for the Arts.
+•N'Its/i)-
Call or Click for Tickets!
urns
734.764.2538 I www.ums.org
soci*,'
outside the 734 area code, call toll - free 800.221.1229
mc" mici•Nan mama
aca ar,r1,,1 annual ,rte tin
January 5 • 2006
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