Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

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Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (CPMAJO - also called Presidents Conference) was founded by Nahum Goldmann in 1954 as the coordinating body for 52 national Jewish organizations to lobby the executive branch on behalf of Israel. The power wielded by the organization's chairman is hinted at in a statement by ADL national director Abraham Foxman:'This position is lovingly called 'the King of the Jews,' he told the New Yorker.[1]

Activities

The organisation's website lists the following goals:

  • Strengthen and foster the special U.S.-Israel relationship.
  • Ensure that Israel's interests are heard and understood by policy makers, opinion molders and the American public.
  • Address critical foreign policy issues that impact the American Jewish community.
  • Represent the interests of organized American Jewry.
  • Protect and enhance the security and dignity of Jews around the world.

Projects

In 2003 the Conference of Presidents partnered with the Israel on Campus Coalition to create the Israel Campus Beat, which monitors and publishes news about campus activities around Israel in North American colleges and universities. It says it aims ' to provide updated news and information for pro-Israel students, professionals who support them on campus and stakeholders across the broader community.' [2]Its editor-in-chief is former Jerusalem Post editor Carl Shrag and articles are written by freelance student reporter interns.[3]

Other initiatives include:

Events

  • On 24 March 2009 British MP Denis MacShane, a leading advocate of the notion that critics of Zionism are anti-Semitic, met with the Conference of Presidents ‘to discuss the sharp rise in anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incidents’
  • On 25 March the Conference hosted the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat on his inaugural visit to the US ‘to discuss his vision for the city.’
  • On 6 May 2009 Israeli President Shimon Peres addressed New York leaders ‘at a special luncheon’, following meetings with President Obama and Vice President Biden.
  • On 11 August 2009 new Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren addressed the Conference of Presidents.
  • On 24 September 2009 the Conference of Presidents jointly with the Consulate General of Israel in New York hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who has also spoken on a number of other occasions.
  • On 8 June 2010 the far-right Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman was welcomed.
  • On 1 March 2011 leaders of the Conference of Presidents and its member organizations met with US President Barack Obama at the White House ‘to discuss U.S.-Israel relations, ongoing changes in the Middle East and other issues’.
  • On 9 March 2001, Ofer Eini, Chairman of the Histadrut and Vice President of the International Trade Unions Confederation, gave ‘a special briefing about the role of labor in the efforts to combat the delegitimization of Israel’.
  • On 15 September 2011 the Conference of Presidents hosted the former Commander-In-Chief of the Israeli Air Force and the current President/CEO of EL AL Israel Airlines, Major General (Ret.) Elyezer Shkedy.
  • On 19 December 2011 leaders of the Conference of Presidents met with Former Governor of Massachusetts and Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.[8]

History

According to the New York Times’ Thomas L. Friedman, the Conference of Presidents is ‘Likud-run'[9]. In other words, as another writer notes, it leans 'decisively to the right on critical issues involving Israel'[10].

Principals and Members

Former staff

Member Organizations

Funding

Publications

Contact

633 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
United States
Phone:(+1) 212 318 6111
Email: info@conferenceofpresidents.org
Website: http://www.conferenceofpresidents.org/

References

  1. ↑ Paumgarten, Nick, "The Tycoon." The New Yorker, 23 July 2007
  2. ↑ About, Israel Campus Beat, accessed 3 July 2012
  3. ↑ Who We Are, Israel Campus Beat, accessed 15 July 2012
  4. ↑ America's Voices in Israel, Conference of Presidents, accessed 3 July 2012
  5. ↑ Secure Community network, Conference of Presidents, accessed 3 July 2012
  6. ↑ Leadership Action Network, Conference of Presidents, accessed 3 July 2012
  7. ↑ The Lawfare Project, Conference of Presidents, accessed 3 July 2012
  8. ↑ Recent Events, Conference of Presidents, accessed 3 July 2012
  9. ↑ Israel and the Settlers, New York Times, accessed 17 July 2012
  10. ↑ Mihcael Massing, Deal Breakers, American Prospect, accessed 17 July 2012
  11. ↑ Seymour D. Reich, Examining Mr. Obama's foreign policy, The Washington Post, 25 November 2010
  12. ↑ Lester Pollack: An Illustrious Record of Leadership, NYU Law School Magazine, accessed 17 July 2012
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