Eyal Ostrinsky’s recent appointment to chair the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund followed weeks of torturous coalition bargaining within the World Zionist Organization.

Those negotiations took on added gravity after a controversial and unsuccessful bid by Miki Zohar, a minister with the ruling Likud party, to appoint the prime minister’s son, Yair Netanyahu, to a senior paid position within WZO.

The deal that was finally struck will see representatives from the Likud and the center-left opposition each serve half of the five-year terms as heads of the WZO and KKL-JNF.

Ostrinsky, 45, the youngest KKL-JNF chairperson to date, emerged as the consensus choice for that job. Active in the Labor Party from a young age, he has worked in national organizations such as WZO, where he served as chief of staff for former WZO vice chair Yizhar Hess, and KKL-JNF, where he advised former chairman Danny Atar. In the Knesset, he held advisory and organizational positions with several lawmakers.

He will be replaced for the second half of the term by Likud’s Shai Hajaj, who chairs the Regional Government Center.

Ostrinsky has already made headlines since becoming chairman by promising that KKL-JNF will stop buying West Bank land and will halt funding for educational programs at West Bank outposts that encourage radical right-wing settlers to persecute Palestinians.

He also refused to apologize for being the only person at the presidential table at last month’s annual Israel Bible Quiz not to wear a kippa. In a long Facebook post, he explained that the Hebrew Bible belongs to Jews of all stripes.

KKL-JNF, established in 1901 to buy and develop land for Jewish settlement and best known for the hundreds of millions of trees it has planted throughout Israel, serves as the Jewish people’s custodian for 13 percent of the land in the country, the management of which is carried out by the Israel Lands Authority.

A kind of NGO officially registered as a company for the benefit of the public, it works in forestry, water, education, community development, tourism, and research and development.

Over the years, it has been tainted by accusations of cronyism, a bloated staff, high salaries and perks, and a lack of accountability.

Soon after starting his new job, Ostrinsky approached media outlets, including The Times of Israel, and asked to be interviewed. Asked why, he said he wanted the public to know and trust that he understood what needed to be repaired and that he would take the........

© The Times of Israel