The Jewish National Fund provided temporary employment for more than 700 youths this past summer as part of the national effort to reduce unemployment. A JNF spokesman said a more ambitious employment scheme is being planned with the Labor Ministry for next summer.
The jobs were mainly in the JNF forests. Youngsters recruited from nearby towns were put to work thinning out forests, pruning trees, clearing tracks for fire-fighting equipment and taking fire-prevention measures. Some served as fire-watchers, manning towers at key-points on the lookout for incipient forest fires.
The JNF said it was deluged with applications as word of the project spread. The periods of employment had to be kept down to 10 days in order to give as many youngsters as possible a chance to earn money.
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