The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (CoP; commonly Presidents' Conference) is an American

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that addresses issues of critical concern to the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community, and the state of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in particular. It comprises 51 national Jewish organizations. It was founded to develop a consensus voice among Jewish organizations in dealings with the executive branch. On August 4, 2019, Jewish News Syndicate reported that William Daroff will replace Malcolm Hoenlein as the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

History

The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations was founded in 1956 in response to requests from

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

and his administration. The

American Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...

community of the period was experiencing a large growth in its similar policy groups (such as the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

and

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The AJCongress was ...

) and the increasing influence of the

Jewish denominations Jewish religious movements, sometimes called "religious denomination, denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Ortho ...

on politics (particularly from

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Jews). The Eisenhower administration wanted a way to gauge the opinion of the community, without wading into the internal politics of the community, and polling leaders of each organization. The conference established a unified voice for the community, one that government officials could consult on important matters. For its first 30 years, the organization was headed by Yehuda Hellman. After his death in 1986,

Malcolm Hoenlein Malcolm Hoenlein has been the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations since June 1986. He is the founding executive director of the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry and the Jewish ...

became chairman. Hoenlein took a much stronger role in shaping US policy, especially within the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

Activities

The conference's website states that it is "the preeminent forum where diverse segments of the Jewish community come together in mutual respect to deliberate vital national and international issues." Among the listed priorities of the conference are to:

International Leadership Award

In December 2008, the conference presented

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

, and his government as a whole, with its inaugural "International Leadership Award" for his support for Israel.

, the executive vice-chairman of the conference, stated that the award was given to express the group's appreciation for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's "courageous stands" to boycott the Durban II anti-racism conference. He also praised Canada's "support for Israel and tsefforts at the U.N. against incitement and ... the delegitimization

f Israel F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

where they have taken a role in the forefront."

Support for Jonathan Pollard

In December 2008, the conference asked President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to pardon

Jonathan Pollard Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954) is a former intelligence analyst for the United States government. In 1987, as part of a plea agreement, Pollard pleaded guilty to spying for and providing top-secret classified information to Israel. H ...

, a former US navy analyst who was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for spying for Israel.

stated that Pollard should be pardoned on humanitarian grounds, adding that "It's time that he be released. He has expressed remorse." Pollard, who was branded as a traitor in the US but considered a hero in Israel, was released in November 2015, almost thirty years from the day when he was arrested. Pollard was scheduled to speak to members of the Conference in January 2016 in New York. US Representatives

Jerrold Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who since 2013 has served as the U.S. representative for , which includes Manhattan's west side and parts of Brooklyn. A member of the Democratic Party, he is in ...

and

Eliot Engel Eliot Lance Engel (; born February 18, 1947) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1989 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented a district covering portions of the north Bronx and sou ...

, to discuss efforts to lighten Pollard's parole conditions, in which both congressmen have been actively involved.

Meeting with Pope Benedict XVI

On February 12, 2009, the conference's leaders met with Pope Benedict XVI in order to re-assert the importance of Jewish–Catholic relations in the wake of the controversy over negationist comments made by Society of St. Pius X bishop Richard Williamson.

References

External links

*
List of member organizations
{{Authority control Jewish-American political organizations Zionist organizations Zionism in the United States Non-profit organizations based in New York City 1956 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1956 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Israel–United States relations