Laureine and David Greenbaum Work Water in Israel

Laureine & David Greenbaum

Laureine Greenbaum has become heavily interested in water resources issues related to Israel.  Ms. Greenbaum, a lawyer, and her husband, David Greenbaum, president of Vornado Realty Trust, are longtime supporters of the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

The Greenbaum's are interested in working with JNF to build the Israel's infrastructure, protect the environment and build a community in Israel's Negev Desert. The couple recented visited Israel to tour the wetlands, modernized waste-water treatment plants and oil-drilling equipment used to find water.

Ms. Greenbaum various issues, from reservoirs, to run-off, to rivers, to raising the level of the Sea of Galilee.
According to Greenbaum:

"We have water issues in the U.S., but we don't go to war over it," she says. "JNF and Israel is a leader in this area. What I always say is, JNF makes Israel a better place. Israel, with all its innovations and inventions, makes the world a better place."

The Greenbaums now support JNF's work to alleviate water shortages in Israel, and they recently contributed $100,000 in support of the charity's Parsons Water Fund. The couple also serve on JNF's national and Greater New York boards; Ms. Greenbaum is the incoming president of the board for the local zone.

JNF, founded in 1901, is known for its work reforesting Israel and developing parks and more than 250,000 acres of land. Education, community development—including building baseball fields and an indoor playground in a community on the border of Gaza—and developing tourist sites are all part of the vision of the charity. (WSJ, 11/1/2011)