Israel Matzav

Clinton bringing green slush to Israel?

Is Bill Clinton bringing green slush with him to Israel? That's how the Jewish National Fund is implicitly justifying spending $500,000 to bring Clinton to Israel for Shimon Peres' birthday party.

In response to a query from The Jerusalem Post to KKL-JNF about the gala, members of the international steering committee of KKL-JNF’s World Leadership Conference of Presidents voiced their support for the event.

This year’s WLC, which takes place biannually, will occur on June 14 through 20 and includes the June 17 gala as part of its activities.

“We members of the committee, the organizer of the World Leadership Conference of Presidents of KKL-JNF from 40 countries around the world, have decided to join in an event organized by the Peres Academic Center,” a statement from the group said. “The Peres Academic Center in Rehovot invited Former US president Bill Clinton, came to financial terms with him, and paid him, a long time before the representatives of the WLC of Presidents of KKL-JNF were part of it.”

The $500,000 will be contributed to the William J. Clinton Foundation, which finances global initiatives on public health, climate change, economic equality, childhood obesity and other environmental and health concerns.

“As KKL-JNF contributors we have decided to take part in this event, seeing this as a unique opportunity to increase fund-raising towards the land and people of Israel, while recognizing the KKLJNF’s ‘green’ activities around the world,” the group statement said.

“We would like to emphasize that our participation at the event is fully financed by our own funds and we intend to raise $100 million for projects in the State of Israel.”

The fund-raising will take place throughout the course of the week-long WLC, the committee members stressed.

Representatives of the Peres Academic Center meanwhile responded that Clinton will be a guest of honor at this special tribute evening, which will include many government officials, public figures and dignitaries.

Contrary to previous reports, the gala evening will not include fund-raising, and participants in the event – many of who are friends and supporters of the academic center – will not need to pay for their entrance, a statement from the center said.

“The Peres Academic Center in Rehovot announced that due to the high demand for attendance all places have been booked, and we thank everyone who was interested in joining and regret that additional places cannot be confirmed,” the statement added.

So Clinton is coming here to promote 'green activities' around the world, including global initiatives on public health, climate change, economic equality, childhood obesity and other environmental and health concerns. The JNF is paying for him to come. And you thought the JNF was about reclaiming swampland and planting trees in Israel. Climate change? Obesity? What does that have to do with their little blue boxes to which Jews have given money all these years?

Labels: Bill Clinton, energy independence, green slush, greentech, Jewish National Fund

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:17 PM