The World Kanaani Organization
Affiliated Branch of the Salita Foundation
At the heart of our mission lies a simple and ancient truth. In the Book of Genesis, God showed Adam the garden and all the living beings within it and said: “Take care of it, for there is no one else but you.” This call was given not only to Adam but to all humanity for all generations. The living world is our shared responsibility, entrusted to us with tenderness and expectation.
The Kanaani breed, born in Jerusalem in the 1990s and descending from the ancient Felis lybica — the African Wild Cat and ancestor of all domestic cats — now stands on the very edge of extinction. Only a handful of pure representatives remain in the world. It is a part of Israel’s natural heritage, a page of Jewish cultural memory, an element of global biodiversity, and like any fragile thread of history, it can disappear if we do not act now.
The World Kanaani Organization, functioning as an affiliated branch of the Salita Foundation, was created to preserve and document the pure Kanaani line, to collect archives, pedigrees, photographs, testimonies, and historical materials, to gather and systematize all global information about the breed, to write books, articles, educational content, scientific reflections, and to develop both a comprehensive digital library and, in the future, a physical library and museum dedicated to this remarkable Israeli breed.
Our mission includes international cooperation among Israel, the United States, Ukraine, Germany, Europe, and the entire civilized world. We work with non-profits, scholars, animal-welfare organizations, feline specialists, cultural institutions, government partners, and research centers, with the goal of building a global network for the protection, study, and responsible preservation of the Kanaani breed.
A significant part of our work involves participation in grant programs: we seek to receive grants for the preservation and research of the Kanaani, and we also aim to provide grant support to individuals and organizations who wish to develop Kanaani programs or ethical breeding initiatives in their own countries. We view this as a form of cultural diplomacy, an act of global cooperation, and a bridge between nations through the shared care of a living heritage.
Another essential area of our mission is educational work: programs for children and youth that teach compassion, responsibility, empathy, and respect for animals. This naturally continues the legacy of the Salita Foundation, originally established by world champion boxer Dmitriy Salita to support children through sports and education, and today carried forward by his brother, Rabbi Moshe (Mikhail) Salita, who serves as CEO.
We are guided by the teaching of our sages who said: “Whoever saves even one small creature saves an entire world.”
We believe that preserving the Kanaani is a small modern expression of the Noah mission — an effort to unite people, cultures, and countries through the protection of a fragile, almost vanished form of life.
If we manage to save even one little Kanaani, we will have saved another world.