United Israel Appeal (UIA), a subsidiary of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), is a link between the American Jewish community and the people of Israel. An independent legal entity with 501(c)(3)

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

status, and a Board of Directors, United Israel Appeal is responsible for the allocation and oversight of funds raised by United States Jewish federation campaigns on behalf of Israel for use by its operating agent, the

Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

. It also secures and monitors U.S. grant funds for the immigration and absorption of Jewish refugees and humanitarian migrants to Israel from countries of distress. Partnered with the

, United Israel Appeal assists American Jews to fulfill their ongoing collective commitment to contribute to and participate in the upbuilding of the State of Israel. United Israel Appeal has offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Activities

United Israel Appeal's principal objectives are to assist immigration to Israel through the relief, rehabilitation, and resettlement of the immigrants therein, and to aid charitable, educational, and scientific institutions and Jewish-identity programs in Israel. In consultation with the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and individual

Jewish federation The Jewish Federation (JFED), is generally a secular Jewish non-profit organization, found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, fi ...

s, United Israel Appeal nominates members and observers of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors (BOG), members of its committees and designates delegates to the Jewish Agency Annual Assembly.

Allocation and evaluation

United Israel Appeal provides grants, fiduciary oversight, allocates funds provided to it from donors, foundations, American

Jewish Federations The Jewish Federation (JFED), is generally a secular Jewish non-profit organization, found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, fina ...

and Jewish Federations of North America. United Israel Appeal monitors and evaluates the programs operated on its behalf by the

. United Israel Appeal monitors the management of the educational assets and activities of the Israel Education Fund (IEF) as well as appointing members of the boards of the managing companies.

History

United Israel Appeal was first established in 1925 as the United Palestine Appeal (UPA) to unify fundraising in America for a Jewish national homeland. Its constituents included Keren Hayesod, the fundraising organization for the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

; Hadassah;

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

; the Jewish National Fund and Mizrachi. United Palestine Appeal was dissolved in 1930 and reconstituted in 1936 by Keren Hayesod and the Jewish National Fund. In 1938, United Palestine Appeal entered into a partnership with the

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a Jewish relief organization based in New York City. Since 1914 the organisation has supported Jewish people living in Israel and throughout the world. The organization i ...

(JDC) to found the

United Jewish Appeal The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was a Jewish philanthropic umbrella organization that existed from its creation in 1939 until it was folded into the United Jewish Communities, which was formed from the 1999 merger of United Jewish Appeal (UJA), Co ...

(UJA). United Israel Appeal has undergone many changes since its early days. In addition to the partnership begun in 1938, the most significant changes prior to 2000 came in 1971 as a result of the reconstitution of the

. After the Reconstitution Agreement, for the first time, American Jewish leaders from federations, as well as all the American Zionist organizations, served as members of the United Israel Appeal's board of directors. The American Zionist organizations had seats on the Jewish Agency Board through their membership in the World Zionist Organization. The Reconstitution Agreement led United Israel Appeal to name the

as its exclusive operating agent in Israel. In 1999, United Jewish Communities was created as a merger of United Israel Appeal, United Jewish Appeal, and the Council of Jewish Federations, into a single, national organization. After this merger, United Israel Appeal became a subsidiary of United Jewish Communities, which itself was later renamed the Jewish Federations of North America.

Funding

According to the organization's Internal Revenue Service

Form 990 Form 990 (officially, the "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax") is a United States Internal Revenue Service form that provides the public with financial information about a nonprofit organization. It is often the only source of such i ...

form, United Israel Appeal distributed $231,487,000 of grants and other assistance to entities outside the United States between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014.

Leadership

United Israel Appeal's chairman is Andy Groveman of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, whose term began in November 2015. David M. Mallach is the executive vice-chairman. The most recent past chairman is Richard N. Bernstein of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Other past chairpersons have included Bruce A. Arbit of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

; Richard L. Wexler of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Jane Fisher Sherman Max Martin Fisher (July 15, 1908 – March 3, 2005) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was a benefactor/alumnus of the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. He spent much of his life raising money for philanthropic ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Bennett L. Aaron of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and Shoshana S. Cardin of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

References

External links

United Israel AppealBridging the gaps in Israeli society through technology; Jerusalem PostUrban Institute National Center for Charitable Statistics
* ttp://www.forward.com/articles/13159 Richard Wexler United Jewish Communities Founder To Step Downbr>Jewish Agency for Israel
{{Authority control Charities based in New York City Jewish-American political organizations Jewish charities based in the United States Jewish Federations of North America Organizations established in 1925 Zionism in the United States Zionist organizations