The Battle for the Country Yossi Katz In 1901, the Zionist Organization founded the Jewish National Found to purchase lands in the Land of Israel and transfer them to the ownership of the Jewish people. The book before us examines and summarizes the JNF's land purchasing policies and endeavors, from the establishment of the Fund to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. A major part of this essay centers on the period from 1936 to 1948, which were the most important years of the JNF's activities and during which it became almost the Sole Jewish entity promoting this aspect of the building of the land of Israel. During these years, the JNF purchased about 600,000 dunams, which constitute more than 60% of its acquisitions from its establishment to the establishment of the state. The creation of actual real property owned by the Jewish people which also served as a foundation for settlement was a prerequisite for achieving a Jewish state. Under it's articles of association, the lands purchased by the JNF cannot be sold. They were leased for the purpose of establishing agricultural and urban settlements and subsequently, the State of Israel applied this principle to all its lands (about 20.5 million dunams), of which JNF lands now constitute about 13%. Professor Yossi Katz holds the Chair for the Study of the History and Activities of the Jewish National Fund at Bar-Ilan University. He specializes in the modern history of the Land of Israel and the State of Israel and in the study of Zionism. He has published 18 books including: the "Business" of Settlement: Private Entrepreneurship in the Jewish Settlement of Palestine, 1900-1914 (English, 1994) ; Partner to Partition: The Jewish Agency's Partition Plan in the Mandate Era (English, 1998) ; Between Jerusalem and Hebron: Jewish Settlement in the Pre-State Period (English, 1999, 2nd printing, 2003) ; The Last Best West: Essays on the Historical Geography of the Canadian Prairies (With J.L. Lehr, English, 1999) ; The Religious Kibbutz Movement in the Land of Israel (English, 1999, 2nd printing 2003) ; Forgotten Property: What Became of the Assets in Israel of Holocaust Victims (Hebrew, 2002).