After former Deputy State Attorney Adv. Yehoshua Lamberger lambasted, over 235 pages, the way in which the Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemet Leisrael (JNF-KKL) operated in buying land beyond the Green Line (the 1948 cease-fire line which formed Israel's eastern border before Judea and Samaria - the West Bank - were conquered in the Six Day War of 1967), and criticized two directors for acting without authority, a new report landed on the desk of JNF chairperson Avraham Duvdevani this week.
The new report, by former judge Rahamim Cohen is concise, just twenty pages long, and it exonerates those criticized by Lamberger. Nevertheless, for the third time, it finds that the organization should regularize the matter of land purchases in Judea and Samaria, and make them open and transparent.
The background to Lamberger's report starts at a meeting of JNF's executive held in September 2017. During the meeting, a resolution was passed to allocate NIS 250 million to purchases of land and property. The wording of the resolution was: "Further to the discussion that took place, the executive committee has decided to allocate NIS 250 million for Himanuta, a subsidiary of the JNF, for the purchase and enhancement of land and property in the Negev, the Galilee, Jerusalem, and the periphery." "Periphery" actually meant Judea and Samaria.
The executive committee decision was ratified by the JNF board, and in November that year a steering committee was formed for land purchases in Judea and Samaria. Two directors were appointed to head the committee, Arnan Felman and Nachi Eyal. Its purpose was to use the money allocated by the executive committee resolution.
In 2019, the JNF's internal auditor wrote to the chairperson at the time, Danny Atar, and warned that because of the sensitivity of the matter, the organization's activity in Judea and Samaria should be examined from a legal point of view. A month later, a decision was made to halt Himanuta's purchases temporarily until a legal opinion was obtained from former judge Yosef Alon. In September of the same year, the opinion was received, containing a recommendation to regularize the terms on which the organization acted beyond the Green Line, and it was officially accepted by the JNF executive in February 2021. Among other things, it was decided that land should be purchased beyond the Green Line in Area C (under Israeli control) only.
Alon's opinion did not satisfy everyone at the JNF, and in November 2019 a further examination was undertaken by Yehoshua Lamberger as an external examiner. Lamberger examined "the corporate conduct of the JNF and the way decisions were made at Himanuta Jerusalem." The report, which was submitted in August 2020, shook the JNF, and had a dampening effect on its land purchase beyond the Green Line through Himanuta Jerusalem. Moreover, the report accused Felman, Eyal, and Himanuta Jerusalem CEO Alex Heifetz, of acting without authority and without the required degree of transparency. "They acted in an institutional conflict of interests that was made worse by the secrecy with which they operated.," the report said.
The subjects of the report's criticism, who did not receive an opportunity to present their case before Lamberger before the report was issued, demanded a further examination that would also examine their claims and remove the cloud over their conduct. Accordingly, last September, former judge Rahamim Cohen was appointed as an examiner, and his report, which has reached "Globes", does exonerate the three men, but also raises once more the question of regularizing the organization's activity beyond the Green Line. Furthermore, Atar, who in Lamberger's report was portrayed as someone who was unaware of what was happening, gave a completely different version to Cohen.
Atar explained in an interview with him in December 2021 that "periphery" was Judea and Samaria. "In his view, it was clear to everybody that what was meant was purchases of land in Judea and Samaria, and that 'this should be stated surreptitiously in a way that could be interpreted however anyone wanted.' So it was the intention of the chairperson of the JNF at the time that the resolution should also deal with purchases in Judea and Samaria, and in his view it did so."
"As far as the officeholders are concerned, the conclusion is that land should be bought in Judea and Samaria," Cohen writes, adding that the obscure wording of the resolution indicates that the purchases should be made "discreetly."
While the brief report exonerates those who carried out the deals beyond the Green Line and finds that they did so with permission and authority, Cohen repeats the findings of Alon and Lamberger concerning the discussion required at the JNF on its policy on purchases in Judea and Samaria. Cohen states that the matter should be examined by the organization's institutions and that the new policy should be approved by its board. He also states that there should be a mechanism whereby deals are reported to senior officials of the JNF, even if there is a need for secrecy.
Such a discussion almost took place last April, but was deferred at the last minute by Duvdevani because of demands by left-wing board members. Since then, no discussion has taken place, no decisions have been made, and the JNF's activity in Judea and Samaria has still not been regularized despite the fact that the political right has the required majority to pass a resolution of this kind. The fear among JNF board members is of intervention by the court in a way that will bar the organization from buying land beyond the Green Line as it has done for decades.
Following Cohen's report, Nachi Eyal told "Globes", "I'm proud of the privilege that has fallen to me to be a prominent partner in fulfilling the JNF's essential mission, which is redemption of land. I am glad that Judge Cohen ratified the actions I carried out with permission and authority out of loyalty to the organization and its values as expected from members of the executive, and contrary to attempts by radical left-wing elements who tried to malign us on account of this activity."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 2, 2022.
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