The Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayameth Le’Israel) was established in 1901 by the Fifth World Zionist Congress to purchase land in Zion for a Jewish state. By the time the State of Israel was founded in 1948, the JNF owned 12.5 percent of the land in the new nation. Over the past century, the Fund's mission has expanded to include afforestation and ecology, building infrastructure, providing employment to new immigrants, education, water resource development, and recreation and tourism.
The JNF began printing stamps in 1902 as a concrete symbol of the Jewish state envisioned by the Zionist leadership, as a way to publicize JNF ideology, and as a way to raise the needed funds. During the past 100 years, over 4,200 stamps have been issued.
In 1939, the 21st Zionist Conference required that all national Zionist organizations place a JNF stamp alongside the required postage on all official correspondence. When the State of Israel was established in 1948, JNF stamps were used as regular postage for a few weeks until official Israeli stamps could be printed. Today, the stamps serve as an educational tool, as well as a way for individuals to support the work of the JNF. |
