The New American Zionism

Appendix: List of Organizations

>> 165 Appendix List of Organizations Agudat Yisrael of America. Founded in Europe in 1912, the American branch serves as an advocacy organization for ultra-Orthodox Jews. American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Founded in 1951, AIPAC is the flagship organization of the Israel lobby. The organization advocates a close relationship between the United States and Israel and generally follows Israel’s line on major diplomatic issues. American Council for Judaism. Founded in 1942 by a group of Reform rabbis, the organization opposed the Zionist movement in the 1940s and 1950s. American Jewish Committee (AJC). Founded in 1906, the AJC is a centrist , multi-issue advocacy organization that emphasizes combating anti-Semitism, supporting Israel, promoting energy independence, and strengthening Jewish life. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Founded in 1914, the JDC is the world’s largest Jewish humanitarian assistance organization . A founding partner in the United Jewish Appeal, the JDC remains one of the federation movement’s primary vehicles for overseas activities, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Israel. American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (AZCPA). AZCPA is a precursor of AIPAC. Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI). Founded in 1971, AFSI is a rightwing advocacy organization that supports Jewish settlement in the West Bank. 166 > 167 Hadassah. Founded in 1912, Hadassah is a women’s Zionist organization with more than 330,000 members worldwide. Hadassah’s primary activity is fundraising in support of Hadassah medical centers in Israel. Hasbara Fellowships. Founded in 2001, Hasbara Fellowships is a rightleaning organization that trains Jewish students for pro-Israel advocacy on their college campuses. Israel Project. Founded in 2002, the Israel Project is a centrist advocacy organization that supplies news outlets with information about Israel and the Middle East. Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Founded in 1929 as the de facto government of the Yishuv (Jewish community in Palestine), JAFI was reconstituted after the establishment of Israel as a partnership of diaspora organizations and the Jewish state. Throughout its history, JAFI has been funded primarily through the annual campaigns of the United Jewish Appeal. Today, the organization’s primary foci are immigration, absorption , and Jewish Zionist education. Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). Founded in 1944 as the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC), the organization adopted its new name in 1997. As the advocacy arm of the federation movement, the JCPA seeks to express a unified Jewish voice on a variety of national and global policy issues. Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). JFNA is the national association of local federations. See Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, above. Jewish National Fund (JNF). Founded in 1901 to purchase lands for Jewish settlement in Palestine, JNF has been one of American Jewry’s primary vehicles for contributing to Israel’s development. Today, JNF functions as Israel’s largest environmental organization, managing forests , water reservoirs, and national parks, as well as building infrastructure for new Jewish communities. 168 > 169 United Jewish Appeal (UJA). Founded in 1939, the UJA was American Jewry’s primary vehicle for fundraising for “overseas” causes, especially the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the United Israel Appeal (UIA). In 1999, the UJA merged with the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF) and the United Israel Appeal (UIA) to form the United Jewish Communities (UJC). In 2009, the UJC changed its name to the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). United Palestine Appeal (UPA). See United Israel Appeal, above. Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). Founded in 1896, the ZOA was the flagship organization of American Zionists until the establishment of the state of Israel. After a period of steep decline, the ZOA was revived in the 1990s as a right-leaning advocacy organization. This page intentionally left blank ...