Interviewer: Avraham Duvdevani, Director of the KKL, shalom!

Duvedevani: Shalom!

Interviewer: You decided that KKL will now work on the “redemption” of lands in the West Bank (aka Yehuda ve Shomron). What is the practical meaning of this decision?

Duvdevani: First of all, we didn’t need to decide, because it’s been executed like that for 100 years. From 1967 through the Six-Day War period, KKL purchased land in the West Bank. In 1968, then-Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol asked KKL to purchase land properties in the West Bank for the purpose of settlement. This is not new. This is in the initial memorandum of KKL, where it’s written that [land purchase should take place] “not just in the state of Israel, but in any area that is under the jurisdiction of the Israeli government.” Yosef Ye’elon, who was the legal advisor for KKL and a former supreme court judge, wrote an legal opinion on this that asserted that from the perspective of past practice and the original [KKL] memorandum, it is 100% ok [to purchase lands in the West Bank].

Interviewer: [tries to interrupt] yet there is a difference because until now you did this through another entity that took a lot of criticism…

Duvdevani: Just a minute, two things. 

In the past when land was purchased in the West Bank, the internal handling within KKL was not done well, it was a managerial failure. So he said, two things:

1. Make a clear decision that these purchases are fair and honest
2. Create a regulated order for this [process]

What we did yesterday was exactly that. We created a clear, transparent, organized process, not under the radar, to clarify who we need to report and receive approvals internally for making the purchases and sales. This was based on that legal decision [by Ye’elon.]

That’s why, we approved the decision as the board decision, independent of the government and its policies, regardless who rules over the West Bank. It’s irrelevant.

Interviewer: Let’s talk about this policy in practice. Give me an example of a land property like this, that is a potential property for purchase by KKL.

Duvdevani: I’ll tell you, I’ll give you an example. There are many pieces of land surrounding the existing settlements, that we want to purchase in order to allow for expansion of these settlements. The settlements have nowhere to develop and grow. There is a suggested “blue line” for potential expansion and we purchase the lands so that they can place settlement there. In Gush Eztion, many [lands like this]. We purchase lands for forestation, so the settlements have a park nearby, “a green lung.” All of these things. Any activity we do inside the “green line” we also do in the West Bank.

Interviewer: what do you say to those who criticize you, for example, Benny Gantz who sent you yesterday a letter and asked you to halt this decision and said it has ramifications on the state, on Jews in the Diaspora, and impact on the relationship with the new U.S. government. As the head of KKL do you think about these impacts, or do you say “it’s not my purview”?

Duvdevani: I hate to say it, but they [critics] don’t understand what we do, and what this board decision was.

Interviewer: Benny Gantz didn’t understand?

Duvdevani: No, they didn’t understand!

Interviewer: Why?

Duvdevani: We’re talking about that we can purchase land in Area C in any location. Period. It’s unrelated to state policy, whether it’s helpful or not helpful. When they want to settle this land, that’s the Israeli government’s purview. We cannot put anything on this land without approval from the Israeli government.

Interviewer: So I ask again, do these matters of state policy interest you? We saw a reaction from the U.S Department of State that, to put it mildly, was not pleased with this move.

Duvdevani: As I said, this topic is not relevant right now, because all that we do is according to the Israeli government policy. Everything we do is according to government policy, no matter which government.

Interviewer: Well, Benny Gantz is also the Israeli government! He is the Minister of Defense.

Duvdevani: True, but this is unrelated to Israeli state policy. State policy is whether to settle or not to settle, to build or not to build. The state policy doesn’t relate to the location of the property.

Interviewer: So why didn’t this happen until today?

Duvdevani: It was so obvious and taken for granted. This is how the process works for 100 years!

Interviewer: But you took a different decision than the policy until today. Why? What happened until today?

Duvdevani: The decision is not different than before!

Interviewer: So why did you take this decision yesterday? If you say, for 100 years we purchased land…

Duvdevani: because the way the last purchase that was made in the previous session was poorly managed, disorganized— a big managerial failure. So members of our board said “why didn’t you execute this in an organized manner. Ah, you’re operating under the radar because you’re not allowed to do this.” 

Interviewer: so you made an organized decision?

Duvdevani: My predecessor, who is not considered to be right-wing, is the one who requested that Sefi [Yosef Ye’elon] give his legal opinion.

Interviewer: Ok, I’m trying to understand. We’ve seen KKL in recent years, involved in environmentalism, reforestation, and installing picnic tables in the woods. Does yesterday’s move mean a change in direction? Is it a statement from you as the new director? Are we going back to an original vision of the “redemption” of land? Are we doing something different in KKL?

Duvdevani: Look, forestation is one of the things we do and has become the brand of KKL. But 120 years ago, in the 5th Jewish Congress, Herzl created KKL for land redemption.

Interviewer: Yes, but that was 120 years ago. I am asking if you, as the new director of KKL, have a new or different vision for the organization?

Duvdevani: It’s not a matter of vision. This is KKL’s role, its DNA. It doesn’t depend on me, what I want or don’t want. KKL was created to achieve these goals [of land redemption]. As part of the redemption of the land, we develop it and forestation is part of that.

Interviewer: Is this true inside “little Israel” within the Green Line? I saw an interview of yours on Channel 7 a few months ago where you explained that you purchase land in the Galil, for example from Jews, so that Arabs won’t buy from them.

Duvdevani: Our business is redemption of the land. So that tomorrow we don’t have to buy lands from Arabs who purchased them from Jews. Just recently, I was called urgently to purchase lands from Jewish folks.

Interviewer: So if a Jewish landowner says to you, “I have no one to sell to and if you don’t buy from me, I will sell to an Arab” you purchase the land from him?

Duvdevani: No, he doesn’t. His neighbors tell me. They say: “Look, he is going to sell the land to an Arab!” and then we enter and if it’s a reasonable price we will pay the same price as the Arabs, so that later we don’t have to purchase the land from the Arabs to redeem it.

Interviewer: What do you say to an Israeli-Arab citizen who is listening to our conversation right now, a citizen like you, and they say “What is going on here?”

Duvdevani: To be clear—and sadly this wasn’t clear to some Supreme Court judges in the past. We are here, not in Uganda, because of our connection to the land, no other reason. Otherwise, we could have made just as great a state in Uganda. We insisted on coming here because of the land. When Herzl brought forth the Uganda proposal, there was a controversy because of the land. This land is what makes this place the place that we yearn for. That’s why KKL was founded—to redeem this land.