Jewish National Fund-USA Announces New Regional Board President

Jewish National Fund-USA is proud to announce Joshua Schonfeld as its new president of the Greater Washington D.C. regional board of directors. Schonfeld assumes the role after several years as a board member and has served as co-chair of two Jewish National Fund-USA Breakfasts for Israel.

The son of both a Holocaust survivor father and a mother born in pre-state Israel, Schonfeld was instilled with Ahavat Yisrael (love of Israel) from a young age. A proud Zionist today, he stresses the importance of connecting the Jewish diaspora with their history: “Maintaining the Kesher (bond) between Jews in the U.S. and Israel is more important than ever. Jewish National Fund-USA's work is an important element in the building, maintaining, and deepening of these ties.”

Going to Israel continues to be a source of inspiration to Schonfeld, who has been travelling there since he was six years old. “Visiting these places is inspiring. Hearing the history of what has happened to enable us to live in a time where Medinat Yisrael, the State of Israel—the dream of our ancestors—became and remains a reality is uplifting.”

Schonfeld and his wife Suzanne participated in two Jewish National Fund-USA volunteer missions to Israel after the October 7 attacks, but he especially remembers his Housing Fund mission in 2022, where he visited a Society for the Preservation of Israel Historical Sites property in the Galilee. The organization’s Housing Development Fund supports the creation of housing sites across Israel’s North and South to attract new families and strengthen communities. “[The mission] aligned perfectly with my family history, my passion for Israel, and the modern history of our homeland.”

As regional board president, Schonfeld is eager to support Jewish National Fund-USA's essential work in Israel’s North and South. He is inspired by the organization’s work to cultivate Israel’s South, as well as economic catalysts like the Galilee Culinary Institute by JNF featuring the Rosenfeld School of Culinary Arts in the North. These initiatives are part of the organization’s larger goal of driving population growth in Israel’s frontier regions.

In addition to his current work with Jewish National Fund-USA, Schonfeld has served on the boards of several Jewish organizations, schools, and committees, and has contributed multiple articles to the Blogs section of The Times of Israel. He is the proud father of three adult sons, all of whom attended Alexander Muss High School in Israel through its partnership with the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Schonfeld attributes his advocacy to his parents and grandparents, who had a long legacy of giving to charities both in the United States and Israel.