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Ask any Israeli about Keren Hayesod and they are likely to think you are asking for directions to the nearest street bearing that name. Why? Because almost every city in Israel has a street named “Keren Hayesod”. In appreciation to the donors and to the organization, almost every city in Israel has chosen to recognize Keren Hayesod’s significance and to name a major street in its honor. You can find these streets if you stroll through Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, Ramat Gan, Ramat Hasharon, Herzliya, Givatayim, Petah Tikva, Kfar Saba, Kiryat Shemona, Mazkeret Batya, Netanya, Afula, Tirat HaCarmel, Kfar Shmaryahu, Be’er Yaacov, Ashdod, Holon, Safed, Sderot – and the list goes on. On your next visit to Israel, go see one of the Keren Hayesod streets!

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Photo: Street bearing the name of Keren Hayesod in Jerusalem

Nine years after the founding of Keren Hayesod, the executing arm of the Zionist movement was established – the Jewish Agency for Israel. While Keren Hayesod was responsible for raising funds and channeling them in the most appropriate way to different executing entities, the World Zionist Organization saw the need to establish an executing agency in the field to implement and move forward both small and large projects. The work of Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Agency for Israel is intertwined and the active partnership between the two is mutually beneficial. The two organizations have collaborated on many projects. They played a key role in establishing the State of Israel in 1948 and continue to strengthen it. The Jewish Agency for Israel works mainly in the fields of immigration and absorption; it has absorbed more than 3 million immigrants and established over 450 cities and towns throughout the country. The Jewish Agency for Israel advances educational, social welfare and community projects and, together with Keren Hayesod, brings the Jews of Israel and the Diaspora closer together.

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Photo: Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal in the USA, Edward Ginsberg, during a speech marking Keren Hayesod’s jubilee in New York, July 1970

Keren Hayesod jubilee celebrations began in the spring of 1970, with the issue of a new stamp dedicated to Keren Hayesod and its main areas of activity – immigration, absorption and settlement. In addition to the stamp, a new medallion was issued in honor of the occasion, and 13,000 of them were distributed. The first medallion was given to Prime Minister Golda Meir by the chairman of Keren Hayesod at that time, Dr. Israel Goldstein. As part of the festivities, in July of that year a special session of the Knesset was held. The following day, a concert was performed by the Israel Symphony Orchestra in Binyanei HaUma (the Israel Convention Center) in Jerusalem, conducted by Zubin Mehta, with the participation of Daniel Barenboim and some of the world’s finest musicians. At the same time, more and more streets across Israel were named for Keren Hayesod, and festivities were held around the world to mark the occasion. Keren Hayesod published a review of the funds it had raised to date – the staggering amount of $1.6 billion – which was used to strengthen Israel through construction, education, social welfare and culture. And now another fifty years have passed.

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Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir (1969 – 1974) looking at the medallion given to her during Keren Hayesod’s jubilee celebrations

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Photo: The stamp issued in honor of Keren Hayesod’s jubilee in 1970, showing KH’s three main mission areas: immigration, absorption and settlement

Every year Keren Hayesod organizes missions that provide the opportunity to personally witness KH work in Israel. Visiting Israel on these missions is the ultimate expression of the connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel. Every year, Keren Hayesod organizes hundreds of visits for its donors and activists worldwide, which provide moving and unforgettable experiences. The missions include tours around the country, meetings with politicians and senior officials for updates on the situation in Israel and the region, visits to army bases and, most important, to projects supported by donors and a direct encounter with the beneficiaries. From 2016 until 2020, Keren Hayesod brought together supporters from around the world for the Walk Israel Mission – an incredible hike along the Israel Trail to benefit the Youth Futures project. Keren Hayesod missions are world-renowned as unforgettable experiences. Even people who have visited Israel many times are moved anew with each visit. Nothing beats seeing for yourself!

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Photo: Walk Israel Mission, Masada, 2017

Danny Kaye, one of the greatest American actors, singers and comics of his generation, decided to accompany the Gadna Orchestra on a trip around the world to raise funds for Keren Hayesod. 25 mesmerizing concerts concluded on December 6, 1967. Danny Kaye, known as a long-standing supporter of Israel, had volunteered to conduct the second part of each of the concerts that took place over a period of six weeks, in Europe, Canada and South America. The concerts were unforgettable. Danny Kaye used humor, changing accents with great virtuosity, conducting the well[1]known “Flight of the Bumblebee” with a flyswatter in his hand, and even holding a lively dialogue with the audience at the end of the performance. The Gadna Orchestra comprised young people ages 14 to 22. The trip introduced them to their peers around the world, with the aim of raising funds. Tickets to the shows were snapped up. In Italy, the tickets cost 25,000 lirettas and in Holland, they were sold at an especially high price. The money raised during the trip was donated to the special Security Fund set up to help Israel meet the costs and needs of the Six Day War. The show demonstrated the original thinking of Keren Hayesod, which aspires at all its events to find new ways of enlisting Jews from around the world to come to Israel, donate money to the Zionist enterprise and strengthen their connection with events in Israel.
Admit it – you, too, would have loved to be there!

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Photo: Danny Kaye and the Gadna Orchestra, October 1967

Did you know that Tel Aviv Port was established following the Great Arab Revolt and the shutdown of Jaffa Port? In April 1936, the Great Arab Revolt broke out in Jaffa, in response to the strengthening of the Jewish Yishuv. The delayed and complacent reaction of the British led to a bloody struggle that lasted some three years, costing the lives of thousands of Arabs, more than 500 Jews and dozens of British. Consequences included a general strike, during which the port of Jaffa, a major commercial artery, was shut down, causing serious harm to the economy. An immediate and creative solution was needed. With support from Keren Hayesod and the Tel Aviv municipality, an alternative pier was quickly constructed in Tel Aviv. After only one month, the first ship was already unloading its goods at the improvised port that replaced Jaffa Port. In February 1938, the British authorized operating the Tel Aviv Port as a passenger port as well, and from then on, many immigrants entered the Land of Israel through its gates.

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Photo: Carrying sacks on the pier of Tel Aviv Port, 1936

It is interesting to see how the Keren Hayesod logo has changed to suit the spirit of the times. Over the years, Keren Hayesod changed its logo a number of times, reflecting its development and renewal in different periods, in order to stay current and forward-looking. At the same time, several elements remain in all the logos. All have the two letters “K” and “H” – often on their own, but sometimes accompanied by drawings and illustrations. These drawings, which also appeared in various posters, stamps and publications, were usually related to building the country, ploughing fields, cultivating land, constructing houses, planting trees and so on. Over the years the icon of a globe was added, as well as the flag of the State of Israel. One thing has been preserved in the logos over the past 100 years: they all reflect the essential nature of Keren Hayesod and secure its position as the largest fundraising organization for the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

Imagine receiving a dried flower from a child your age from the other side of the world! Keren Hayesod came up with a creative idea to strengthen the connection between children and young people in Israel with their peers in the Diaspora. On February 29, 1956, the “Flower Campaign” was launched. Dozens of children made their way to the Keren Hayesod Hall in Tel Aviv for the opening of the “Flowers of our Country” exhibition. There, each child chose a flower, dried it and wrote a brief message on a postcard. The postcards, together with the dried flowers, were sent to children in Jewish communities around the world. The Flower Campaign lasted more than 10 years, during which 180,000 postcards were sent every year. A total of over one million personal greetings from Israel, together with dried flowers, were sent to children worldwide. In return, the Israeli children received letters and postcards from throughout the world. Years later, many of the recipients of flowers from the Diaspora attested that receiving letters from children in Israel created a deep affinity with the country. So where would you like your flower to be sent?

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Photo: Keren Hayesod poster, 1958

Who are the precious people who work behind the scenes to make sure that everything runs smoothly? Day and night, with all their hearts, sometimes under difficult conditions, the staff of Keren Hayesod and the campaigns drive forward a complex system of activities around the globe. In its first years, Keren Hayesod had only 15 employees, who managed an intricate system of emissaries, campaigns, conferences and public relations around the world. Today too, Keren Hayesod is run by a small and dedicated professional staff in the Head Office in Jerusalem and in the worldwide campaigns who are the beating heart of its widespread activities. An outstanding example of the connection between Keren Hayesod and its employees is the story of Dr. Markus Spiegel, one of KH’s first staff members, who was a lawyer and Zionist leader in Krakow, Poland at the beginning of the 20th century. Spiegel was the editor of a local newspaper, but spent most of his time conducting Keren Hayesod activities throughout the region. His work included raising funds from area residents and maintaining close contact between the Keren Hayesod offices in Jerusalem and the Krakow office. In December 1939, a few months after the German invasion of Poland, Dr. Spiegel was arrested together with other senior Keren Hayesod activists, and in 1940 he was sent to Auschwitz. Despite Keren Hayesod efforts to have him released, he was murdered that year. His oldest son, Eleazar, managed to escape from the concentration camp, and immigrated to the Land of Israel. He received an award of honor from Keren Hayesod and a scholarship to study chemistry at the Hebrew University. He changed his name to Eleazar Shafrir. After receiving the title of professor, he founded the Center for the Study of Diabetes at the Hadassah Medical School; his research gained widespread international recognition. The story of Dr. Spiegel is just one example of the special connection between Keren Hayesod and its employees. Staff members continue to be the driving force behind Keren Hayesod’s enormous success worldwide, for which we all owe them our thanks.

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Photo: Dr. Marcus Spiegel (1886-1940)

Keren Hayesod has a tradition that it has maintained religiously for years: producing beautiful calendars that have become a household name and are displayed in many offices, Zionist organizations, private homes, companies and buildings across Israel and around the world. The uniqueness of the Keren Hayesod calendars lies in the story they tell about Israel’s development. Every year Keren Hayesod creates an inspiring new calendar, sometimes featuring the work of prominent artists, that reveal new plans and vision and show the country under development. The calendars serve as a means of communication with Diaspora Jews and donors, sharing with them what is happening in Israel and showing them that their donations are bearing fruit, in every sense. The early calendars highlighted, among other things, flourishing orchards, a fertile and blooming country and agricultural bounty. Over time, the calendars became an identifying mark of Keren Hayesod and a product that was eagerly awaited around the world. To this day, Keren Hayesod calendars are printed in tens of thousands of copies in six languages, and sent to donors around the world.

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The 5709 calendar produced by Keren Hayesod (1948-1949)