Keren Kayemet LeIsrael Argentina
Argentine branch of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund, based in Buenos Aires
| Keren Kayemet LeIsrael Argentina
| |
|---|---|
| Logo |  125th-anniversary logo, "Sionismo ayer y hoy" |
| Type | National branch of KKL-JNF |
| Location | Buenos Aires; Córdoba |
| Area served | Argentina |
| Services | Fundraising for KKL-JNF projects in "Israel"; Zionist and environmental education |
| Key people | Jessica Maria Souss (president, 2025–2027); Diego Sebastián Zuckerberg (secretary general); Esteban Lasry (executive director) |
| Website | kkl.org.ar |
Keren Kayemet LeIsrael Argentina, which also calls itself KKL Argentina and Keren Kayemet Argentina, is the Argentine branch of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF).[1][2] It says that each year it commits to raising funds for specific projects in "Israel" and in Argentina.[2] Its educational programmes aim to bring children, young people and adults closer to what it calls its fundamental values, "el sionismo y la sustentabilidad" ("Zionism and sustainability").[2] KKL-JNF's international office list gives its Buenos Aires telephone number as 54-11-4952-3695.[3]
Aims
KKL Argentina describes KKL as founded in 1901 at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel with the initial aim "de adquirir tierras como paso fundamental para el retorno del Pueblo Judío a su tierra ancestral" ("of acquiring land as a fundamental step towards the return of the Jewish People to its ancestral land"). It says its activities reflect "la unión entre: Ecología y Sionismo" ("the union of ecology and Zionism"), and that it supports projects "para fomentar la periferia en Israel y Argentina" ("to develop the periphery in Israel and Argentina").[1]
Projects in "Israel"
KKL Argentina's projects in "Israel" include:[4]
- preparing land for 26 housing plots at kibbutz Nahal Oz, about a mile from the Gaza Strip, which it says will allow the kibbutz to take in new families and guarantee the growth of the community "así como la del Néguev occidental" ("as well as that of the western Negev");
- the renovation of seven children's houses at kibbutz Mefalsim in the Sha'ar HaNegev regional council, which was attacked on 7 October 2023;
- "Ha Bait Shel Leah", a housing programme for "jaialim bodedim (soldados solitarios)" – lone soldiers in the Israeli army – in Netanya;
- fire-fighting and forest rehabilitation in northern "Israel" after fires caused by missile attacks from Lebanon;
- the "Bosque de la Amistad" in the Ben Shemen forest, with plaques for the 85 victims of the terrorist attack on the AMIA, the 29 victims of the attack on the Israeli embassy in Argentina and the prosecutor Alberto Nisman, and a "Bosque de la Memoria" for Jews who disappeared under the Argentine military dictatorship;
- the restoration of a picnic site in the Jerusalem Forest;
- the crane project at the KKL-JNF Hula Lake park and a forest education centre at Nes Harim.
Projects in Argentina
According to KKL Argentina, the Plaza Israel in the Parque Tres de Febrero in Buenos Aires was opened 28 years ago, remodelled in 2007 and given exercise equipment donated by KKL Israel in 2012; the planting of an "Arboreto de las Naciones" began there in 2022, to celebrate "el vínculo de amistad y cercanía" ("the bond of friendship and closeness") between "Israel" and Argentina. It has also funded water works – new wells, repairs to distribution channels and a reservoir dam – in Colalao del Valle and the Quilmes area of the Calchaquí Valleys, Tucumán, as a "Tikun Olam" project.[2]
Its education department runs teacher training on "Israel", innovation and sustainability, workshops for pupils and the "Festival KKL Li-Laj". After 7 October 2023 it began giving scholarships to students in the areas of southern and northern "Israel" affected by the war.[2]
Governance
| Name | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica Maria Souss | President | [1] |
| Mario Altman | First vice-president | [1] |
| Adrian Plan | Second vice-president | [1] |
| Diego Sebastián Zuckerberg | Secretary general | [1] |
| Alejandro Lijavetzky | Treasurer | [1] |
| Esteban Lasry | Executive director (staff) | [1] |
| Name | Term | Source |
|---|---|---|
| David Roizin | 1975–1977 | [1] |
| Isaac E. Rapp | 1977–1978 | [1] |
| Tobías Kamenszain | 1978–1983 | [1] |
| Noé Davidovich | 1983–1985 | [1] |
| Enrique Jaratz | 1985–1989 | [1] |
| Abraham Liberson | 1989–1999 | [1] |
| Etel N. de Roitenberg | 1999–2000 | [1] |
| Gilbert Lewi | 2000–2007 | [1] |
| Ricardo Popovsky | 2007–2008 | [1] |
| Samuel Chirom | 2008 | [1] |
| Adolfo Filarent | 2008–2016 | [1] |
| Ulises Taitelbaum | 2016–2018 | [1] |
| Hernán Hilú | 2018–2021 | [1] |
| Daniel Lew | 2021–2023 | [1] |
| Diego Stern | 2023–2025 | [1] |
| Jessica Maria Souss | 2025–2027 | [1] |
Offices
- Buenos Aires: telephone 011 4518-4572; email kkl@kkl.org.ar.
- Córdoba: telephone 351 8699930; email cordoba@kkl.org.ar.[5]
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Argentina
- Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund
- Organización Sionista Argentina
- Keren Hayesod Argentina
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 KKL Argentina, Quiénes Somos kkl.org.ar, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 KKL Argentina, Proyectos Locales kkl.org.ar, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund, Contact your local office KKL-JNF, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ KKL Argentina, Proyectos Israel kkl.org.ar, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ KKL Argentina, Contacto kkl.org.ar, accessed 25 October 2026.