Agudath Israel of America
Encyclopedia
Agudath Israel of America (sometimes referred to as Agudah or abbreviated AIA), is a Haredi
Jewish communal organization in the United States
loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel
.
for Haredi Jews in the United States, both those affiliating with the Hasidic
and the non-Hasidic Mitnagdim/Lithuanian Jewish
camps.
Agudah in the United States has been very successful in the difficult task of retaining its major Hasidic factions, with members from the Ger
Hasidim in America working together within the organization and its non-Hasidic Lithuanian rosh yeshiva
s as partners. Agudah represents the vast majority members of the yeshiva
world, sometimes known by the old label of misnagdim
, as well as sectors of Hasidic Judaism; all are commonly known as Haredim or "ultra-Orthodox" Jews representing Torah Judaism
in North America. Not all Hasidic Jewish groups are affiliated with Agudath Israel. For example, the Hasidic group Satmar
dislikes Agudah's relatively moderate stance towards the State of Israel
.
Agudah has ideological connections with both the Agudat Israel party
and with Degel HaTorah
(Hebrew
, "Flag of the Torah"), two Israel
i Orthodox Jewish political parties that have representation in the Knesset
(Israel's parliament). In Israel, Degel and Agudah are in a political coalition called United Torah Judaism
(UTJ).
AIA is also a part of the World Agudath Israel
organization, which convenes international conferences and religious conclaves.
rabbi
s of the time, including the Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
of Vilna, the Radziner Rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Elazar Leiner
, the Gerrer Rebbe (Imrei Emes)
and the Chortkover Rebbe. It grew during the 1920s and 1930s to be the political, communal, and cultural voice of those Orthodox Jews who were not part of Zionism
's Orthodox Jewish Mizrachi
party. See more information at World Agudath Israel
.
Rabbi Eliezer Silver
, an Eastern European-trained rabbi, established the first office of Agudath Israel in America during the 1930s, organizing its first conference in 1939. After the Holocaust
, some prominent rabbis made their home in America who established a moetzes ("[supreme] council") and the movement began to grow rapidly with the rise of the yeshiva-based and Hasidic Orthodox communities.
Mike Tress
lead the expansion of the movement during the early 1900s until his death during the mid-1960s as its chief lay leader. His cousin Rabbi Moshe Sherer
then took control. He was succeeded by Rabbi Shmuel Bloom after his death in the 90s, and in 2008 Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel has taken over as Executive Vice-President.
In 2007, it was among over 530 New York City
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $30 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
. Since 2002, the Carnegie Corporation has donated more than $115 million.
: Council of Torah Sages, composed primarily of Rosh yeshiva
s (the chief spiritual and scholarly authority in a yeshiva
) and Hasidic rebbe
s (who head Hasidic dynasties and organizations). The Moetzes sets all major policies and guides the organization according to its precepts of Daas Torah generally translated as Torah knowledge/direction.
The organization has a lay staff, many of whom are also ordained rabbis, but not of a caliber comparable to the rosh yeshivas and rebbes. After the passing of Rabbi Moshe Sherer, its last significant "lay" leader, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow
who is also the Novominsker
rebbe
and a member of the Moetzet, was appointed as the Rosh Agudat Yisrael ("Head of Agudath Israel"). The past Noviminsker Rebbe, Rabbi Nochum Perlow was considered a key figure in the Agudah. The present official head is now his son, also known as the Noviminsker Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow who works closely with his fellow leaders on the Moetzet.
The administrative staff includes Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel as the Executive Vice President, Rabbi Shlomo Gertzulin as the Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Rabbi Leibish Becker as the Executive Director.
There are AIA-affiliated synagogue
s across the United States
and in Canada
.
. See below, under "Activities".
In 1956 for example, the moetzes issued a written ruling forbidding Orthodox rabbis to join with any Reform
or Conservative
rabbis in rabbinical communal professional organizations that then united the various branches of America's Jews, such as the Synagogue Council of America
. This position was not endorsed by the Modern Orthodox
. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik
of Yeshiva University
had initially aligned himself with Agudah but later established his independent views on these matters and a host of other issues, such as attitudes towards college education and attitudes towards the secular-led Israeli governments. Rabbi Soloveitchik felt it important to nurture the modern Rabbinical Council of America
(RCA). However, at times, a few of the more traditionalist rabbis at Yeshiva University aligned themselves with Agudah's positions.
and the bulk of its members living in the New York
-New Jersey
area, the Agudah ensures that it monitors and intercedes on behalf of causes important to it in the politics of New York City
, its five boroughs, and in the state government of New York State.
With the growth of Orthodox Judaism throughout the country, AIA also has active branches in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, Texas, Florida, California and New Jersey, where they lobby
the judicial and legislative branches of these state, and local governments on any issue it deems important morally or religiously or important to its constituency. Agudath Israel's National Director of Government Affairs is Rabbi Yehiel Mark Kalish who manages the state government effort under Zwiebel.
Agudath Israel's federal activities are coordinated by Rabbi Abba Cohen, the Director and Counsel of the organization's Washington Office. Agudah was the first Orthodox Jewish group to open a Washington Office, in 1988, and maintains ongoing relations with the White House and executive agencies, as well as with the U.S. Congress, on numerous domestic and foreign issues.
Agudath Israel World Organization also has a representative at the United Nations
.
AIA also files amicus briefs
in cases at all levels of the judiciary, often signing on as one of many organization signatories to a brief authored by Nat Lewin
or COLPA.
AIA uses the lobbying firm BGR http://bgrdc.com/clients.html.
Commission, and others. In addition, there are hundreds of local "Agudah" synagogues scattered in communities throughout the country, all of which are affiliated with AIA.
Agudath Israel does not have its own website
, since its official policy is for its members not to use the Web for uses other than work-related. However, its message, as relayed in the pages of its magazine, the Jewish Observer, is intermittently republished to the Web by a third party, the Shema Yisrael Torah Network
. AIA does allow the use of e-mail
, and uses it to disseminate information to its members.
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
Jewish communal organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...
.
Functions
Agudah serves as a leadership and policy umbrella organizationUmbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
for Haredi Jews in the United States, both those affiliating with the Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
and the non-Hasidic Mitnagdim/Lithuanian Jewish
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
camps.
Agudah in the United States has been very successful in the difficult task of retaining its major Hasidic factions, with members from the Ger
Ger (Hasidic dynasty)
Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
Hasidim in America working together within the organization and its non-Hasidic Lithuanian rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
s as partners. Agudah represents the vast majority members of the yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
world, sometimes known by the old label of misnagdim
Misnagdim
Misnagdim or Mitnagdim is a Hebrew word meaning "opponents". It is the plural of misnaged or mitnaged. Most prominent among the Misnagdim was Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman , commonly known as the Vilna Gaon or the Gra...
, as well as sectors of Hasidic Judaism; all are commonly known as Haredim or "ultra-Orthodox" Jews representing Torah Judaism
Torah Judaism
Torah Judaism is an English term applied to a number of Orthodox Jewish groups to describe their Judaism as being based on an adherence to the laws of the Torah's mitzvot as expounded in Orthodox Halakha...
in North America. Not all Hasidic Jewish groups are affiliated with Agudath Israel. For example, the Hasidic group Satmar
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
dislikes Agudah's relatively moderate stance towards the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Agudah has ideological connections with both the Agudat Israel party
Agudat Israel
Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
and with Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.-Ideology:...
(Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, "Flag of the Torah"), two Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Orthodox Jewish political parties that have representation in the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
(Israel's parliament). In Israel, Degel and Agudah are in a political coalition called United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
(UTJ).
AIA is also a part of the World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...
organization, which convenes international conferences and religious conclaves.
History
The original Agudath Israel movement was established in Europe in 1912 by some of the most famous OrthodoxOrthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s of the time, including the Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was a pre-eminent Av beis din , posek , and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
of Vilna, the Radziner Rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Elazar Leiner
Izhbitza – Radzin (Hasidic dynasty)
Izhbitza-Radzin is the name of a dynasty of Hasidic rebbes. The first rebbe of this dynasty was Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner, author of Mei Hashiloach, in the city of Izhbitza....
, the Gerrer Rebbe (Imrei Emes)
Avraham Mordechai Alter
Avraham Mordechai Alter , also known as the Imrei Emes after the works he authored, was the third Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1905 until his death in 1948. He was one of the founders of the Agudas Israel in Poland and was influential in establishing a network of...
and the Chortkover Rebbe. It grew during the 1920s and 1930s to be the political, communal, and cultural voice of those Orthodox Jews who were not part of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
's Orthodox Jewish Mizrachi
Mizrachi (political party)
Mizrachi was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day National Religious Party.-History:The Mizrachi movement was founded in 1902 in Vilnius as a religious Zionist organisation. It also had a trade union, Hapoel HaMizrachi, started in 1921...
party. See more information at World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...
.
Rabbi Eliezer Silver
Eliezer Silver
Rabbi Eliezer Silver was the President of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada and among American Jewry's foremost religious leaders...
, an Eastern European-trained rabbi, established the first office of Agudath Israel in America during the 1930s, organizing its first conference in 1939. After the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, some prominent rabbis made their home in America who established a moetzes ("[supreme] council") and the movement began to grow rapidly with the rise of the yeshiva-based and Hasidic Orthodox communities.
Mike Tress
Mike Tress
Elimelech Gavriel "Mike" Tress was the leader of Agudath Israel of America for many years during the 1900s. He changed it from a small group to a major organization almost singlehandedly. He even sold his business to help pay for the needs of the organization. He saved thousands of Jews during the...
lead the expansion of the movement during the early 1900s until his death during the mid-1960s as its chief lay leader. His cousin Rabbi Moshe Sherer
Moshe Sherer
Rabbi Moshe Sherer was co-Chairman of the Agudath Israel World Organization from 1980, and the Chairman of Agudath Israel of America from the 1960s, until his death in 1998....
then took control. He was succeeded by Rabbi Shmuel Bloom after his death in the 90s, and in 2008 Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel has taken over as Executive Vice-President.
In 2007, it was among over 530 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $30 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
. Since 2002, the Carnegie Corporation has donated more than $115 million.
Structure
Agudah's policies and leadership are directed by its Moetzes Gedolei HaTorahMoetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah refers to the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of any of several related Haredi Jewish organizations....
: Council of Torah Sages, composed primarily of Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
s (the chief spiritual and scholarly authority in a yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
) and Hasidic rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
s (who head Hasidic dynasties and organizations). The Moetzes sets all major policies and guides the organization according to its precepts of Daas Torah generally translated as Torah knowledge/direction.
The organization has a lay staff, many of whom are also ordained rabbis, but not of a caliber comparable to the rosh yeshivas and rebbes. After the passing of Rabbi Moshe Sherer, its last significant "lay" leader, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow
Yaakov Perlow
Rabbi Yaakov Perlow is a Hasidic rebbe and rosh yeshiva living in Boro Park, Brooklyn. He is the current Novominsker Rebbe and serves as rosh of the American Agudath Israel of America, a Haredi communal organization...
who is also the Novominsker
Novominsk (Hasidic dynasty)
Novominsk is the name of a Hasidic dynasty originating in Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland and currently based in the United States. It also runs a yeshiva knows Yeshivas Novominsk- Kol Yehuda....
rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
and a member of the Moetzet, was appointed as the Rosh Agudat Yisrael ("Head of Agudath Israel"). The past Noviminsker Rebbe, Rabbi Nochum Perlow was considered a key figure in the Agudah. The present official head is now his son, also known as the Noviminsker Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow who works closely with his fellow leaders on the Moetzet.
The administrative staff includes Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel as the Executive Vice President, Rabbi Shlomo Gertzulin as the Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Rabbi Leibish Becker as the Executive Director.
There are AIA-affiliated synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Positions
The AIA takes sides on many political, religious, and social issues, primarily guided by its Moetzet Gedolei Hatorah. It uses these stances to advise its members, to lobby politicians, and to file amicus briefsAmicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
. See below, under "Activities".
In 1956 for example, the moetzes issued a written ruling forbidding Orthodox rabbis to join with any Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
or Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
rabbis in rabbinical communal professional organizations that then united the various branches of America's Jews, such as the Synagogue Council of America
Synagogue Council of America
The Synagogue Council of America was an organization of American Jewish synagogue associations, founded in 1926, including :*The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America *The Rabbinical Council of America...
. This position was not endorsed by the Modern Orthodox
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik
Joseph Soloveitchik
Joseph Ber Soloveitchik was an American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a descendant of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty....
of Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
had initially aligned himself with Agudah but later established his independent views on these matters and a host of other issues, such as attitudes towards college education and attitudes towards the secular-led Israeli governments. Rabbi Soloveitchik felt it important to nurture the modern Rabbinical Council of America
Rabbinical Council of America
The Rabbinical Council of America is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU...
(RCA). However, at times, a few of the more traditionalist rabbis at Yeshiva University aligned themselves with Agudah's positions.
Political activity
With its head office in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and the bulk of its members living in the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
area, the Agudah ensures that it monitors and intercedes on behalf of causes important to it in the politics of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, its five boroughs, and in the state government of New York State.
With the growth of Orthodox Judaism throughout the country, AIA also has active branches in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, Texas, Florida, California and New Jersey, where they lobby
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
the judicial and legislative branches of these state, and local governments on any issue it deems important morally or religiously or important to its constituency. Agudath Israel's National Director of Government Affairs is Rabbi Yehiel Mark Kalish who manages the state government effort under Zwiebel.
Agudath Israel's federal activities are coordinated by Rabbi Abba Cohen, the Director and Counsel of the organization's Washington Office. Agudah was the first Orthodox Jewish group to open a Washington Office, in 1988, and maintains ongoing relations with the White House and executive agencies, as well as with the U.S. Congress, on numerous domestic and foreign issues.
Agudath Israel World Organization also has a representative at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
AIA also files amicus briefs
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
in cases at all levels of the judiciary, often signing on as one of many organization signatories to a brief authored by Nat Lewin
Nat Lewin
Nathan Lewin is an American attorney.-Early life and education:Lewin was born in Lodz, Poland. His family fled Poland just ahead of the Nazis in 1939 and arrived in the United States in 1941. Lewin grew up in New York City....
or COLPA.
AIA uses the lobbying firm BGR http://bgrdc.com/clients.html.
Social services
Agudah maintains a network of summer youth camps attended by several thousand children. It has a number of social service branches that cater to the elderly, poor, or disabled. It has a job training program called COPE, a job placement division, and a housing program. The Agudah is also responsible for the funding of many other national institutions and projects, including the Beis Yaakov girls' school system, the National Siyum Mishnayos, the national Daf YomiDaf Yomi
Daf Yomi "page [of the] day" or "daily folio") is a daily regimen undertaken to study the Babylonian Talmud one folio each day...
Commission, and others. In addition, there are hundreds of local "Agudah" synagogues scattered in communities throughout the country, all of which are affiliated with AIA.
Communications
AIA advocates its position in several ways:- Mails newsletters of AIA news, Coalition and Inside Track;
- E-Newsletter entitled Weekly Window
- Publishes a general-interest monthly magazine, The Jewish ObserverThe Jewish ObserverThe Jewish Observer is an American Orthodox Jewish magazine published by the Agudath Israel of America.The magazine generally presents a Haredi viewpoint. Published since 1963, it is printed nine months a year; the January and February issues are combined, and there are no issues in July or August...
(currently in hiatus); - Promotes its views as a member (along with other Jewish organizations) of Am Echad ("One Nation");
- Maintains full-time offices in Washington, the west coastWest Coast of the United StatesWest Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, the midwest, and the south; - Activism by lobbyingLobbyingLobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
and submitting amicus briefsAmicus curiaeAn amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
, as described above; - Organizes prominent lay-person missions to government agencies;
- Appoints official spokesmen, such as Rabbi Avi ShafranAvi ShafranAbraham Shafran is a Haredi rabbi who serves as the Director of Public Affairs for Agudath Israel of America and who is Editor-at-Large of Ami . Agudath Israel was established to meet the needs and viewpoint of many Haredi Jews, while Ami, launched on November 24, 2010, promises to serve a broader...
, who respond to media articles and statements which concern the orthodox community; Rabbi Shafran also organizes AIA members to do the same; - Conveys its positions in the Jewish media, particularly through privately-owned weekly Jewish newspapers in English called "HaModia", and "Yated Neeman" (distinct from the Israeli English-language newspaper carrying the same name), which convey news and views from the Agudah point of view.
Agudath Israel does not have its own website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, since its official policy is for its members not to use the Web for uses other than work-related. However, its message, as relayed in the pages of its magazine, the Jewish Observer, is intermittently republished to the Web by a third party, the Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
The Shema Yisrael Torah Network is a group of websites dedicated to spread Jewish thought, halakha and other material through the World Wide Web, Email and written material....
. AIA does allow the use of e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, and uses it to disseminate information to its members.
See also
- Agudat IsraelAgudat IsraelAgudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
(of Israel) - Degel HaTorahDegel HaTorahDegel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.-Ideology:...
- Haredi JudaismHaredi JudaismHaredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
- Schisms among the Jews: Hasidim and Mitnagdim
- United Torah JudaismUnited Torah JudaismUnited Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
- World Agudath IsraelWorld Agudath IsraelWorld Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...