Republican Jewish Coalition
US Republican Party-aligned Jewish political organisation, lobby and campaign network founded in 1985
| Republican Jewish Coalition
| |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(4) social welfare organisation (EIN 52-1386172), with an affiliated PAC and super PAC |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | 50 F Street NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20001-6270 |
| Location | Washington, DC, United States |
| Services | Republican outreach to Jewish voters; lobbying; electoral campaigning |
| Key people | Matt Brooks (Chief Executive Officer); Norm Coleman (National Chairman) |
| Website | https://www.rjchq.org/ |
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) is a Washington-based organisation that describes itself as "the unique bridge between the Jewish community and Republican decision-makers".[1] It was founded in 1985 as the National Jewish Coalition.[2] Its tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organisation dates from October 1985.[3]
The RJC combines three kinds of activity that are reported separately. It lobbies the administration and Congress through a government affairs department; it runs a political action committee, RJC PAC, which gives money to Republican candidates; and an affiliated super PAC, the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund, spends independently in elections.[1][4][5] The RJC also files with the FEC as an independent expenditure filer in its own right.[6]
The organisation is led by Matt Brooks, who joined it as political director in 1988 and became executive director in 1990. Brooks is also chief executive of the Jewish Policy Center.[1] Former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman is national chairman.[1] The board listing still includes the casino owner Sheldon Adelson, marked as deceased, and now includes figures from Donald Trump's first administration, such as former ambassador David Friedman and former envoy Jason Greenblatt.[1]
History
The RJC website states that the organisation "was founded in 1985" and lists George Klein as one of its founders and a former national chairman.[1] Cheryl Halpern, later chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was its national chairman for eight years.[1]
Stephen Sniegoski wrote in 2008 that the New York property investor Lawrence Kadish, a major funder of the Center for Security Policy, had "served as chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition". He described the RJC as "closely allied to Israel's Likud government" and said it had supported building the settlement of Har Homa in occupied East Jerusalem in the late 1990s.[7]
Trump years, 2016–2020
Militarist Monitor's 2019 profile of the RJC records that Norm Coleman had written an op-ed in 2016 headed "I Will Never Vote for Donald Trump", but became national chairman in February 2017. After Trump's election the RJC worked to repair relations with him.[2] After the 2017 Charlottesville march, the RJC called on Trump "to provide greater moral clarity in rejecting racism, bigotry, and antisemitism". In 2018, however, Coleman described members as enthusiastic about Trump's move of the US embassy to Jerusalem and his "tough approach to Iran".[2] In 2019 the RJC called for Representative Ilhan Omar to be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and it announced that Trump would address its annual dinner in Las Vegas in April 2019.[2]
2024 presidential election
In September 2024 the RJC announced what it called "the largest ad buy in Jewish community history". This was a $10 million campaign aimed at Jewish voters in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia, forming part of a "$15 million dollar 2024 campaign" for Trump.[8] The Forward reported that the advertisement, "Meet the Squad", portrayed Kamala Harris as aligned with left-wing members of Congress critical of Israel.[9]
The RJC's own post-election "case study" says it raised more than $5 million for the Trump campaign "via the RJC PAC Portal and fundraising events hosted by our major stakeholders", in addition to the $15 million independent effort. It says it began hiring staff in the five states more than two years before the election and built a Jewish voter-targeting data operation.[10] According to the same document, the RJC also ran advertising in Republican primaries against "anti-Israel Republicans", backing Mark Messmer in Indiana's 8th district and Representative Tony Gonzales in Texas's 23rd.[10] Brooks spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.[10] These figures come from the RJC itself and have not been reconciled here with FEC independent-expenditure totals.
2026 midterm elections
In the 2026 cycle the RJC targeted Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The RJC criticised his votes against aid to Israel, including after the 7 October 2023 attack. After Massie lost the Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th district to Ed Gallrein on 19 May 2026, Brooks said the RJC had "opposed Thomas Massie" for years. He also said that "the Republican Jewish Coalition and the RJC Victory Fund allocated $5 million dollars to support Ed Gallrein".[11] By 6 November 2026 OpenSecrets recorded $5,553,620 in 2026 outside spending by the RJC Victory Fund. Of this, about $3.45 million supported Republicans. OpenSecrets summarised the overall split as 62 per cent for Republicans, 31 per cent against Democrats and 7 per cent against Republicans.[5]
Lobbying, money and influence
The RJC says its government affairs department "lobb[ies] and advise[s] leaders across the federal government", while RJC PAC lets it "strongly support, both politically and financially, the Republican candidates who reflect our priorities".[1] RJC PAC is registered with the FEC as a PAC of a qualified lobbyist/registrant, with Matt Brooks as treasurer.[4]
| Cycle | Receipts (US$) | Disbursements (US$) | Coverage to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 273,075 | 282,797 | 31 December 2016 |
| 2018 | 719,778 | 671,484 | 31 December 2018 |
| 2020 | 2,992,773 | 2,962,271 | 31 December 2020 |
| 2022 | 1,532,405 | 1,590,128 | 31 December 2022 |
| 2024 | 3,501,243 | 3,429,663 | 31 December 2024 |
| 2026 | 2,749,872 | 2,726,883 | 30 September 2026 |
Source: FEC committee totals for C00345132, retrieved 8 November 2026.[4]
Finances of the 501(c)(4)
| Fiscal year | Total revenue (US$) | of which contributions (US$) | Total expenses (US$) | Net assets at year end (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 4,150,669 | 3,766,184 | 4,636,567 | 2,457,378 |
| 2020 | 5,049,591 | 4,532,918 | 5,985,108 | 1,522,555 |
| 2021 | 5,141,003 | 4,840,330 | 4,459,048 | 2,204,508 |
| 2022 | 5,648,763 | 5,013,459 | 6,682,827 | 1,170,444 |
| 2023 | 6,385,139 | 4,097,607 | 6,373,886 | 1,181,697 |
| 2024 | 13,373,014 | 10,461,864 | 12,403,863 | 2,150,848 |
Source: IRS Form 990 data as summarised by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.[3] Revenue in the 2024 presidential election year was more than double that of 2023. Form 990 summaries do not identify donors.
People
| Name | Position | Dates and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Brooks | Executive Director; now styled Chief Executive Officer | Political director from 1988; executive director from 1990.[1] Reported compensation in fiscal 2024: $820,421 from the RJC plus $268,500 from related organisations.[3] |
| Norm Coleman | National Chairman and director | From February 2017.[2][3] |
| Alex Siegel | Chief Operating Officer (previously Deputy Executive Director; National Grassroots Director) | Listed in 2015–2024 filings.[3] |
| Noah Silverman | Director of Congressional Affairs | Listed in 2015–2024 filings.[3] |
| Sam Markstein | National Political Director | Listed in fiscal 2024 filing.[3] |
| Eliot Lauer | Treasurer and director | Litigation partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman; the RJC website says he was pro bono counsel to Jonathan Pollard for more than twenty years.[1] |
| Jeffrey Altman | General Counsel | Partner at Whiteford Taylor Preston.[1] |
| Sheldon Adelson | Board of Directors | Listed on the website as deceased (z"l).[1] |
| Name | Description given by the RJC |
|---|---|
| Ari Fleischer | Former White House press secretary to George W. Bush |
| David Friedman | Former US ambassador to Israel |
| Jason Greenblatt | Former White House Special Envoy to the Middle East, 2017–2019 |
| Dan Conston | Former president of the Congressional Leadership Fund |
| Charlie Spies | Election lawyer; co-founder of the super PAC Restore Our Future |
| Joshua Katzen | Founding leader of CAMERA; co-founder and publisher of Jewish News Syndicate |
| Sander Gerber | CEO of Hudson Bay Capital Management; former AIPAC national board member |
| Larry Mizel | Founder of M.D.C. Holdings; AIPAC board member |
| Wayne Berman | Senior Managing Director at Blackstone |
| Linda Lingle | Former Governor of Hawaii |
| Ronald Weiser | Former ambassador to Slovakia; RNC National Finance Chairman |
| Michael David Epstein | Vice-chairman of the Jewish Policy Center; board member of JINSA |
| Mel Sembler | Listed as deceased (z"l) |
Source: RJC website.[1]
Board membership alone does not show that any individual directed RJC spending. Most directors are listed in Form 990 filings as receiving no compensation.[3]
See also
- American Israel Public Affairs Committee
- Democratic Majority for Israel
- Jewish Policy Center
- Israel lobby in the United States
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Republican Jewish Coalition, About the RJC, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Militarist Monitor, Republican Jewish Coalition, profile last updated 7 September 2019, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Republican Jewish Coalition (EIN 52-1386172), summary of IRS Form 990 filings, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Federal Election Commission, Republican Jewish Coalition Political Action Committee (RJC-PAC), committee C00345132, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 OpenSecrets, Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund: Outside Spending, 2026, spending data from FEC releases of 6 November 2026, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, Republican Jewish Coalition, independent expenditure filer C90012063, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Stephen J. Sniegoski, The Transparent Cabal: The Neoconservative Agenda, War in the Middle East, and the National Interest of Israel, Norfolk, Virginia, 2008, ISBN 978-1-932528-17-6, p. 86.
- ↑ Republican Jewish Coalition, RJC Launches Largest Ad Buy in Jewish Community History in Support of President Donald J. Trump, September 2024, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Jacob Kornbluh, GOP Jews target Harris on Israel in $10 million swing state ad blitz, The Forward, 9 September 2024, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Republican Jewish Coalition, RJC Delivered: Jewish Voters Turned Out for President Trump, December 2024, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Republican Jewish Coalition, Republican Jewish Coalition Congratulates Captain Ed Gallrein on Decisive GOP Primary Election Victory over Thomas Massie, 19 May 2026, accessed 8 November 2026.