Abba Hillel Silver

Abba Hillel Silver (1893-1963) was a leader of the American Zionist movement. He founded the American Zionist Emergency Council (AZEC) in 1943 - the forerunner to AIPAC.

According to the Jewish Virtual Library:

Silver held many different influential positions in organized Jewish life in America. He was founder and co-chair of the United Jewish Appeal, and president of the United Palestine Appeal. He served as the representative of the American Zionist movement at Zionist Congresses. From 1945-1947, Silver was president of the Zionist Organization of America. During that same period, he was also president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (an American Jewish Reform organization).

...Silver was also able to sway world opinion to favor the creation of a Jewish state. It was he, in his capacity as chairman of the American section of the Jewish Agency, who addressed the Assembly of the United Nations for the Zionists. Several months later, in November 1947, the U.N.announced its approval of partition and the establishment of the Jewish state.

Affiliations, Resources, Notes

Affiliations

• AZEC - chairman
• United Jewish Appeal - founder and co-chair
• United Palestine Appeal - president
• Zionist Organization of America - president (1945-1947)

Resources

• Cleveland Jewish History Abba Hillel Silver
• Cleveland Jewish History Abba Hillel Silver: Biography on the Internet
• Cleveland Jewish History Abba Hillel Silver Archives
• Leon Feuer Abba Hillel Silver: A Personal Memoir American Jewish Archives. November 1967: 107-126.
• Jewish Virtual Library Abba Hillel Silver (1893 - 1963)