Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an American Jewish
non-profit organization
that deals with community relations. It is a coordinating round table
organization of 14 other national Jewish organizations (the "National Member Agencies") as well as 127 local Jewish federations and community relations councils. The JCPA describes itself as "the representative voice of the organized American Jewish community."
The JCPA was established as the National Community Relations Advisory Council in 1944 by the Council of Jewish Federations
, which later became part of the United Jewish Communities
, now the Jewish Federations of North America. In the 1960s, it was renamed the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC). The group adopted its current name in 1997. Dr. Conrad Giles of Detroit
has served as chair since February 2010. Rabbi Steve Gutow
has served as executive director
since August 2005. The immediate past chair is Andrea Weinstein of Dallas
.
, advocacy
, and lobbying
. International issues that the JCPA is concerned with include Israel-United States relations
, global antisemitism, the United Nations
, the well-being of Jews in endangered areas, and human rights
. Domestic issues that the JCPA is concerned with include include anti-Semitism, social justice
, poverty
, education
, public health
, and individual rights
, and religious liberties including the preservation of the separation of church and state
. The JCPA is also actively involved in environmentalism
and climate change
issues though its program the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
(COEJL), an affiliate of the National Religious Partnership on the Environment.
Each year the JCPA has an annual conference known as the Plenum, the highest policy-developing body of the organization. At the Plenum the JCPA hosts speakers and debates and adopts resolutions
expressing the consensus policies of member organizations and the organized American Jewish community. These policies become part of the "JCPA Policy Compendium," which includes positions on a range of issues.
The JCPA has three main task force
s:
In September 2007, the JCPA launched an anti-poverty program "There shall be no needy among you." http://www.jewishpublicaffairs.org/organizations.php3?action=printContentItem&orgid=54&typeID=743&itemID=21229 The effort seeks to raise awareness and action to combat hunger, homelessness and other vestiges of poverty in America. JCPA director Gutow led a national 'food stamp challenge' in which he and others consumed for a week no more food than could be purchased with $21, the total amount received by the average food stamp recipient. http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=7090929
The JCPA also jointly manages, in partnership with The Jewish Federations of North America the Israel Action Network.
The JCPA is a partner in the Campaign for Children's Health Care
, a campaign to raise awareness about the problem of uninsured
children in America.
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that deals with community relations. It is a coordinating round table
Round table
A round table is a table which has no "head" and no "sides", and therefore no one person sitting at it is given a privileged position and all are treated as equals. The idea stems from the Arthurian legend about the Knights of the Round Table in Camelot....
organization of 14 other national Jewish organizations (the "National Member Agencies") as well as 127 local Jewish federations and community relations councils. The JCPA describes itself as "the representative voice of the organized American Jewish community."
The JCPA was established as the National Community Relations Advisory Council in 1944 by the Council of Jewish Federations
United Jewish Communities
The Jewish Federations of North America , is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 157 Jewish Federations and the Network of Independent Communities, 400 smaller Jewish communities across North America. The JFNA was formed from the 1999 merger of the United Jewish Appeal, the...
, which later became part of the United Jewish Communities
United Jewish Communities
The Jewish Federations of North America , is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 157 Jewish Federations and the Network of Independent Communities, 400 smaller Jewish communities across North America. The JFNA was formed from the 1999 merger of the United Jewish Appeal, the...
, now the Jewish Federations of North America. In the 1960s, it was renamed the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC). The group adopted its current name in 1997. Dr. Conrad Giles of Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
has served as chair since February 2010. Rabbi Steve Gutow
Steve Gutow
Rabbi Steve Gutow is a rabbi, lawyer, community activist, and Jewish leader. He currently serves as the President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs .-Background:...
has served as executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
since August 2005. The immediate past chair is Andrea Weinstein of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
.
Activities
The JCPA works on shaping consensus on public issues, developing strategic responses, and working with the media, elected officials, coalition partners, and others through public relationsPublic relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
, advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
, and lobbying
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...
. International issues that the JCPA is concerned with include Israel-United States relations
Israel-United States relations
Israel–United States relations are an important factor in the United States government's overall policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main expression of Congressional support for Israel has been...
, global antisemitism, 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...
, the well-being of Jews in endangered areas, and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. Domestic issues that the JCPA is concerned with include include anti-Semitism, social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, poverty
Poverty in the United States
Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday September 13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010, up from 14.3% in 2009 and to its highest level...
, education
Education in the United States
Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
, public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, and individual rights
Individual rights
Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof...
, and religious liberties including the preservation of the separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
. The JCPA is also actively involved in environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
issues though its program the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is a leading Jewish environmental organization in the United States. It was founded in 1993 and is based in New York City.-External links:*...
(COEJL), an affiliate of the National Religious Partnership on the Environment.
Each year the JCPA has an annual conference known as the Plenum, the highest policy-developing body of the organization. At the Plenum the JCPA hosts speakers and debates and adopts resolutions
Resolution (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
expressing the consensus policies of member organizations and the organized American Jewish community. These policies become part of the "JCPA Policy Compendium," which includes positions on a range of issues.
The JCPA has three main task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
s:
- Israel, World Jewry, and International Human Rights
- Jewish Security and The Bill of Rights
- Equal Opportunity and Social Justice
In September 2007, the JCPA launched an anti-poverty program "There shall be no needy among you." http://www.jewishpublicaffairs.org/organizations.php3?action=printContentItem&orgid=54&typeID=743&itemID=21229 The effort seeks to raise awareness and action to combat hunger, homelessness and other vestiges of poverty in America. JCPA director Gutow led a national 'food stamp challenge' in which he and others consumed for a week no more food than could be purchased with $21, the total amount received by the average food stamp recipient. http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=7090929
The JCPA also jointly manages, in partnership with The Jewish Federations of North America the Israel Action Network.
The JCPA is a partner in the Campaign for Children's Health Care
Campaign for Children's Health Care
The Campaign for Children's Health Care is an American issue advocacy campaign dedicated to making high-quality, affordable health insurance coverage for all of America's children a top national priority...
, a campaign to raise awareness about the problem of uninsured
Health care in the United States
Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
children in America.
Members
The 14 National Member Agencies of the JCPA are:- American Jewish CommitteeAmerican Jewish CommitteeThe American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
- American Jewish CongressAmerican Jewish CongressThe American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
- American ORT
- Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
- B'nai B'rithB'nai B'rithB'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
- HadassahHadassahHadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
- Jewish Labor CommitteeJewish Labor CommitteeThe Jewish Labor Committee is an American secular Jewish organization dedicated to promoting labor union interests in Jewish communities, and Jewish interests within unions. The organization is headquartered in New York City, with local/regional offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago...
- Jewish Reconstructionist FederationJewish Reconstructionist FederationJewish Reconstructionist Federation founded in 1955, is the synagogue arm of Reconstructionist Judaism, serving more than 100 congregations and havurot spread across North America. It is located at 101 Greenwood Ave., Suite 430 in Jenkintown, PA....
- Jewish War Veterans of the United States of AmericaJewish War Veterans of the United States of AmericaThe Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America is an American Jewish veterans' organization, and the oldest veterans group in the United States. It has an estimated 37,000 members.-History and purpose:The Jewish War Veterans were established in 1896...
- National Council of Jewish WomenNational Council of Jewish WomenThe National Council of Jewish Women defines itself as a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action...
- Union for Reform JudaismUnion for Reform JudaismThe Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...
- Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
- United Synagogue of Conservative JudaismUnited Synagogue of Conservative JudaismThe United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is the primary organization of synagogues practicing Conservative Judaism in North America...
- Women's League for Conservative Judaism