Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

JNF Offers To Help California Recover From Devastating Wildfires

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli environmental organization Keren Kayemet L’Israel-Jewish National Fund offered its assistance in helping California recover from its recent devastating forest fires.

“We have been following the situation with the horrific wildfires in California including the unprecedented destruction of communities and the devastation to surrounding forests. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who have perished. We want to express our solidarity, encouragement and support and offer our assistance if there’s anything we can do to help,” Daniel Attar, world chairman of KKL-JNF, said in a letter sent on Tuesday to Vicki Christiansen, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.

The two organizations have worked together for some 30 years, including offering assistance and knowledge-sharing in the field of forestation whenever necessary, according to JNF.

Most recently, the U.S. Forest Service aided KKL-JNF in cases of forest fires in northern Israel during 2006 and 2010.

“We pray for your success in extinguishing these fires quickly and without further casualties,” Attar concluded.

At least 79 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 remain missing in the wake of a fire in northern California and two in southern California near Los Angeles. Thousands of homes and buildings also have been destroyed including an entire town, and the homes of several Hollywood stars, as well as destroying or damaging Jewish camps, a day school and other Jewish institutions. Heavy rain is expected this week in northern California, which will tamp down fears of more fires there but could bring with it flash flooding and mudslides.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version