About Us
American Friends of INHF Inc. is the U.S. 501(c)(3) that raises funds and friends for INHF’s work with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. INHF is the Israeli partner, not this organization.
Our history
American Friends of INHF Inc. is a Delaware nonprofit corporation and a U.S. public charity. The Internal Revenue Service recognized the organization as exempt under section 501(c)(3) effective April 30, 2026 (EIN 42-2714691). Donors may deduct contributions under IRC section 170 to the fullest extent allowed by law. Our office is at 1500 Palisade Avenue, Suite 26E, Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024.
We exist so people in the United States can take part with a tax deductible gift in protecting Israel’s nature, landscapes, open spaces, wildlife, and heritage sites. That purpose is the one in our certificate of incorporation: promoting and supporting the conservation, development, and protection of nature, landscapes, open spaces, and heritage sites in Israel, as well as the reintroduction and acclimation of wildlife in Israel, the protection of existing populations, and the strengthening of endangered species in Israel, through social, educational, and cultural programs, projects, and events, and by cooperating with other charitable organizations.
American Friends raises support here.
Every grant is reviewed by our board against our charitable purposes. Recipients must use the funds for the work we approved and report back on that use. We do not operate parks, rescue centers, or archaeological sites ourselves; we raise the friends and the funds that keep that work going.
If you want to know who we are in one sentence: we are the U.S. 501(c)(3) that stands with Israel’s nature and heritage, from sea turtles returning to the water, to ancient synagogues still facing Jerusalem, to children who learn the land by walking it.
Our board
These are the officers of American Friends of INHF Inc., and our Honorary President.
To help with events, outreach, and telling the story in the United States, volunteer with us.
Harold L. Robinson
Honorary President
Rear Admiral Harold L. Robinson, U.S. Navy retired, is Honorary President of American Friends of INHF Inc. Rabbi Robinson served as Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy and Chaplain of the Marine Corps Reserve and later served Jewish men and women in the U.S. military as director of the Jewish Welfare Board's Jewish Chaplains Council.
Ben Yekutiel
Chair
Ben Yekutiel co-founded True Romance Bridal in New York and led the company for nearly 30 years, until 2023. He organized American Friends of INHF Inc. as a U.S. public charity so people here can support nature and heritage work in Israel.
Tal Raz
Treasurer
Tal Raz is a U.S. certified public accountant and earned his business degrees at Baruch College. He has served as chief financial officer of Cellcom Israel and of Shikun & Binui, and as chief executive of Afcon Renewable Energy. He is chief executive of Airengy Tech Ltd.
Mati Boruszek
Secretary
Mati Boruszek was principal of the Alon middle school in Ra'anana and taught history for many years. She holds a master's degree in history from Bar-Ilan University and served on the Ra'anana city council, including as chair of the municipal women's council.
The Nature and Parks Authority
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority is an Israeli governmental body. It cares for the country's nature reserves and national parks. In the United States that work is split between two agencies. The National Park Service runs the parks and historic places people visit. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service looks after wildlife, refuges, and endangered species. Israel's Authority is both of those in one body: the reserves and the animals, and the parks.
It was formed in 1998, when two older authorities from the early 1960s, one for nature reserves and one for national parks, were joined under Israeli law. That is why the wildlife work and the park work sit together. Its rangers and site staff look after hundreds of reserves and parks. Together those places cover about a quarter of the land.
How the Authority is paid
Those two U.S. services are federal bureaus. Congress provides most of their budgets. Many national parks also charge an entrance fee. That fee is a smaller part of how they are paid for.
Israel's Authority is built the other way, and it says so in its own words. It does not receive a government budget for managing and maintaining the sites. The law requires it to charge an entrance fee, and a large part of its budget comes from those fees and from other income at the sites. The amount of the fee is set in regulations. When fewer people come through the gate, the money for running the places falls with them.
Why a foundation sits beside the Authority
American Friends of INHF Inc. is its own Delaware charity, raising friends and funds in the United States. The Authority and the Israel Nature and Heritage Foundation are each independent. A gift on this site is a gift to American Friends. Our board chooses the project and approves the grant.
The entrance fee keeps a site open: the gate, the trail, the people on duty. A grant can support the work in our certificate: conservation of nature, landscapes, open spaces, and heritage sites, care of wildlife, and educational and cultural programs. The organization that receives the grant does that work in Israel.
Financials & transparency
- Tax status
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
- EIN
- 42-2714691
The American Friends of Israel Nature and Heritage Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. No goods or services were provided in exchange for your contribution.
Accessibility
We design this website to meet the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA so donors and visitors who use assistive technology can read our story, subscribe, and give. Read our accessibility statement or tell us if you hit a barrier.
Support our work
Help us preserve and protect nature
Development pressures don't take a decade off. Your support keeps species, habitats, and heritage sites in expert hands — every year.
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- Tax-deductible in the U.S.