2025-11-18 08:21:PM <br/> Tags: #Organization #AmericanJewry #Lobby #LeftwingJewry ![[image-178.png]] # Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) - The JCPA is an American Jewish umbrella organization, founded to coordinate American Jewish advocacy. - The JCPA was founded at a 1944 meeting of the Council of Jewish Federations. *In a 1999 merger, the Council of Jewish Federations became the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]].* - The JCPA was founded at that 1944 Federation meeting by the [[American Jewish Congress]], [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]], [[Jewish Labor Committee (JLC)]], [[ADL]], and over a dozen local Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRCs) to coordinate their shared interest. - The JCPA was originally called the National Community Relations Advisory Council (NCRAC). - In 1967, (following the [[1967 Six Day War]]) the NCRAC was renamed to the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC). - In 1997, the NJCRAC was renamed to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). *The JCPA acronym will be used exclusively on this page for purposes of simplicity.* - The JCPA is a solidly left wing organization, taking left wing positions on race relations, feminism, gun control, immigration, homosexuality/lgbt, anti-Christianity, etc. #### U.S. Activity - The primary founders of the JCPA were: - Isaiah Minkoff - Director from 1944-1975 - [[Joseph Proskauer]] - President of the [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]] from 1943-1949 - Edgar J. Kaufman - First JCPA chair - Harry Lurie - Director of the Council of Jewish Federations from 1932-1954 *The CJF became the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]] in 1999.* #### Civil Rights Era - 1950s-1960s - In 1950, the JCPA co-founded the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), a pro-black civil rights lobbying organization. - The LCCR was founded by the JCPA, the [[NAACP]], and the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters, a black trade union. - In 1952, the [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]] and [[B'nai B'rith]] (parent organization of the [[ADL]]) withdrew from the JCPA over autonomy concerns. - The AJC and ADL both returned in the mid 1960s. - In 1955, the JCPA launched the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference (AICC). - The AICC fought "racist national origin quotas." - *These "racist" quotas had been in place since the Immigration Act of 1924, a piece of legislation which organized American Jewry fought hard to stop.* - The AICC's efforts paid off with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler), which removed national origin quotas, greatly tipping the immigration-scales in favor of non-white countries. - In 1962, the JCPA strongly supported the outcome of *Engel v Vitale*, a landmark Supreme Court Case that banned Christian prayer and Bible study in public schools. *Steven Engel, the lead plaintiff was Jewish.* - The [[American Jewish Congress]], which was one of the four founding organizations represented by the JCPA, led the legal charge on behalf of Engel. - The American Jewish Congress, the JCPA, and most American Jewish organizations, considered the ruling a great victory. - The JCPA has since made sure to curb all attempts to revive Christianity in schools. The JCPA testified before Congress in 1980 to "defeat proposed prohibitions on federal courts hearing challenges to school prayer." - Another [[American Jewish Congress]] legally-backed court case, *Brown v. Board of Education*, was also supported by the JCPA. - The JCPA supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. - The JCPA was involved in organizing the 1963 *March on Washington*. - The *March on Washington* produced MLK Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech. #### 1970s-1980s Immigration and Soviet Jewry - In the landmark 1978 Supreme Court case, *Regents of the University of California v. Bakke*, the Supreme Court upheld the practice of affirmative action in college admissions. - The JCPA supported the decision. - The JCPA supported the Refugee Act of 1980. *The 1980 immigration legislation is truly catastrophic.* - The Refugee Act of 1980 is an amendment to the Immigration Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler). - The Refugee Act of 1980 relaxed the definitions of "refugee" and "asylum seeker." - If you show up at the border and claim "credible persecution" you will be granted asylum. - If you are outside the U.S., you can fill out an I-589 form, requesting asylum. - Between 1980 and 2024, the Refugee Act of 1980 has let over 3 million "refugees" into the United States through the "U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). *USRAP is a product of the Act.* - This 3 million figure is just approved cases. Many millions of illegal immigrants, who arrive through the American southern border, have invoked the Act, which forces the U.S. to add them to a long list of pending asylum cases. - The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) was also created by the Act; the ORR is operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). - The Refugee Act of 1980 is the catalyst behind the large network of NGOs and VOLAGs (voluntary agencies) that facilitate third world immigrants to the United States. - The Act has turned the United States into the largest facilitator of refugee-resettlement in the world. - Refugees, as admitted via pathways formed by the 1980 Refugee Act, make up ~11% of new annual "lawful permanent residents" in the United States. *This does not include the massive horde of illegals, who also use the legal routes formed by the Act.* --- - The JCPA supported the 1973 *Roe v. Wade* Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion. - Since then, the JCPA has routinely opposed any restrictions to abortion. - From the 1960s-1980s, the JCPA was a central organization of the Soviet Jewry movement. - The movement revolved around the ethnic and religious persecution of Jews in the Soviet Union. - The movement was based on the Soviet Union's refusal to let Jews leave the USSR. - The Soviet Jewry movement was doubly used as a cold war proxy by organized American Jewry to bring the U.S. closer to Israel. - Segments of American Jewry tied the Israeli national interest (anti-Arab, militant, the need for Soviet Jewish emigres) to the American national interest (anti-communism, anti-Soviet influence in the Middle East). - To this effect they claimed to be towing the American cold-warrior line, while advocating for Israeli interest. - The JCPA was a key organizer of the 1987 *Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews March*, the largest Jewish protest/rally ever held at the time. - The audio of the 1987 *Freedom Sunday* march was broadcast by the Voice of America (US/CIA international propaganda outlet) to the Soviet Union. - The director of the Voice of America during the 1987 *Freedom Sunday* march was [[Dick Carlson]], father of [[Tucker Carlson]]. #### 1990s - In 1991, the JCPA's National Committee on Ethiopian Jewry aided the Israeli [[Mossad]] Operation Solomon, which covertly smuggled ~14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel. - Other Jewish Organizations that aided Operation Solomon include: [[United Jewish Appeal (UJA)]], [[United Israel Appeal]], [[Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)]], [[Keren Hayesod]]. - The JCPA backed the 1990 enactment of the Lautenberg Amendment (LA). - The LA is an immigration provision that provides refugee status to religious minorities facing persecution in their home countries. - The LA was initially enacted to facilitate Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union. - Many hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews poured into the U.S. during the 1990s under the LA, without providing any proof of persecution. #### 2000s - In 2008, the JCPA unanimously endorsed a two-state solution, putting it at odds with the majority of organized American Jewry. - The JCPA backed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. - The Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was the result of decades of lobbying by the [[ADL]]. - The 2009 Act expanded "protected classes" to cover gender, lgbt, and disability. - In 2013, in conjunction with the [[Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)]], the JCPA launched the "Immigrations Nation Campaign (INC)." - The INC lobbied for increased immigration, and mass amnesty for illegal immigrants in the form of a "pathway to citizenship." - The JCPA conceals the anti-white nature of its actions under the term "immigration reform." - Following the Sandy Hook school shooting in late 2012, the JCPA and its director [[Steve Gutow]] called for restrictions on gun ownership in the United States. - In 2016, the JCPA launched its "Criminal Justice Reform Initiative (CJRI)," which aimed to free criminal blacks from prison based on the idea that their incarceration and/or the length of their incarceration was the result of "systemic racism" in American criminal justice. *It's a shame Jews do this stuff, because now I look like a conspiracy theorist for seeing it. Jews, please stop. Ok?* - The JCPA's [website](https://jewishpublicaffairs.org/criminal-justice-initiative/#:~:text=JCPA%20is%20a%20member%20of%20the%20EMI%20NETWORK) for the CJRI states that, "JCPA is a member of the EMI NETWORK." *EMI stands for "Ending Mass Incarceration."* - The EMI Network [page](https://emi.odyssey-impact.org/#:~:text=In%20no%20area%20of%20American%20society%20are%20the%20legacies%20of%20slavery%20and%20racism%20more%20evident%20than%20in%20the%20criminal%20legal%20system.%20Despite%20making%20up%20only%2012%25%20of%20the%20U.S.%20population%2C%20Black%20people%20make%20up%2050%25%20of%20the%20country%E2%80%99s%20prison%20population.) that the JCPA links to states, "In no area of American society are the legacies of slavery and racism more evident than in the criminal legal system. Despite making up only 12% of the U.S. population, Black people make up 50% of the country’s prison population." *How could this be!* - In 2017, after the infamous Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally, the JCPA's leader [[David Bernstein]] sent an internal email to the JCPA explaining that that JCPA will not call for the ouster of [[Steve Bannon]], [[Sebastian Gorka]], and [[Stephen Miller]]. - Bannon, Gorka, and Miller were were all working in [[Donald Trump]]'s administration at the time, and were facing fire from the left over apparent ties to "white-nationalists" and "neo-Nazis." *Interesting who the JCPA chose not to condemn. I would presume the heavily pro-Israel priors of all three contributed to the JCPA's decision. * - In 2018, the JCPA organized mass Jewish opposition to the infamous Trump Administration's "family separation" of illegal immigrants. - The JCPA boasts that it "organized more than 350 Jewish groups" to lobby Congress and the Trump Administration against the practice. - During the height of Black Lives Matter in 2020, the JCPA was a strong BLM backer. #### 2022 Restructuring and After - In 2022 the JCPA became independent of the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]]. - The JCPA's 2022 restructuring changed its governance style from a broad consensus-based model, incorporating 16 national Jewish organizations and the 100+ Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRCs), to a top-down model where the JCPA board holds the most power. - The decision to separate from the Jewish Federations came in part from conservative-Jewish donors to the Federations that opposed the JCPA's far left positions. - The decision by the JCPA to join an August 2020 full-page ad in the *New York Times* in favor of Black Lives Matter (BLM). - The August 2020 ad in the *NYT* was signed by 637 Jewish groups including the JCPA, the [[ADL]], [[Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)|HIAS]], [[J Street]], and [[Bend the Arc]]. ![[image-179.png|746x420]] *This is the August 2020 ad that the JCPA signed with 636 other Jewish groups. [Source](https://www.jns.org/600-plus-jewish-groups-sign-full-page-ad-supporting-black-lives-matter/).* - A number of major Jewish donors to the Jewish Federations opposed BLM, not because of inherent disagreements, but because they perceived BLM as anti-Israel. *This is almost a direct repeat of events of the 1970s. The Jews incubated the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. The Civil Rights movement soon gave way to a number of black-power and black-nationalist organizations, which were often hostile to Zionism and Israel. At this point, Jewish opposition to the black-nationalists took form. Then as now the Jews operate on behalf of Jewish and Israeli interest first and foremost.* - Though the JCPA lost its financial backing from its 100+ JCRCs and its 16 constituent organizations, it received a three-year financing agreement from the [[UJA-Federation of New York]]. - The UJA-FNY is the largest of the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)|Jewish Federations]]. - In May 2024, the JCPA hired [[Amy Spitalnick]] as its CEO, solidifying the left-wing progressive orientation of the newly independent organization. - Spitalnick described the two core issues the JCPA would focus on under her leadership as "expanding pluralistic, inclusive democracy" and "fighting bigotry, hate, and extremism." - In JCPA published materials following the JFNA-JCPA split, these two core issues were reiterated with the addition that both core issues benefit the "well-being of the Jewish people and Israel." #### Involvement with Israel - The JCPA has been staunchly pro-Israel since the founding of the state in 1948. - When Israel is at war the JCPA greatly inflates its activities, mobilizing American Jewry and helping to coordinate a unified American-Jewish response. - The JCPA sprang to action on behalf of Israel during the [[1948 Arab Israeli War]], the [[1967 Six Day War]], and the [[1973 Yom Kippur War]] most notably. - In 2010, the JCPA and the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]] launched the "Israel Action Network (IAN)" to counter anti-Israel sentiment in the United States. - The network served as a "rapid-response team," utilizing the JCPA's over 100 local Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRCs), and the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)|JFNA's]] hundreds of local federations. - At the time of the IAN's creation, it was reported that "Israeli leaders identify this [American anti-Israel sentiment] as the second most dangerous threat to Israel, after Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons." #### Notable Figures - Isaiah Minkoff - Director from 1944-1975 - Albert "Al" Chernin - Executive vice-chair from 1975-1990 - [[Hannah Rosenthal]] - Director from 2000-2005 - [[Steve Gutow]] - Director from 2005-2015 - [[David Bernstein]] - Director from 2016-2021 - [[Amy Spitalnick]] - Current CEO since 2023 #### Major Donors and Funding - In recent years, JCPA's revenue has been around $2-3 million. - In 2024, the JCPA [reported](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131624104) $2.1 million in revenue with $4.11 million in expenses, for a total deficit of $2.01 million. - In 2024, ~90% of the JCPA's revenue came from donor contributions. - The JCPA has historically been funded by donors indirectly through the collective fundraising campaigns of the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]], the Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRCs), and the JCPA's dues-paying constituent Jewish organizations. - Some of these donors are listed on the pages of the: [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]], [[UJA-Federation of New York]], [[United Jewish Appeal (UJA)]], [[United Israel Appeal]]. #### References - InfluenceWatch. “Jewish Council for Public Affairs.” [https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/jewish-council-for-public-affairs/](https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/jewish-council-for-public-affairs/). - Jewish Council for Public Affairs. “Celebrating 75 Years of Community Relations & Advocacy: History and Timeline.” [https://www.jewishpublicaffairs.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/75th-Anniversary-History-and-Timeline-pages-14-21.pdf](https://www.jewishpublicaffairs.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/75th-Anniversary-History-and-Timeline-pages-14-21.pdf?). *This is a major source; here the JCPA openly boasts about many things documented on this page.* - “Jewish Council for Public Affairs.” _Encyclopedia Judaica_. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. [https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jewish-council-public-affairs](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jewish-council-public-affairs). - Migration Policy Institute. “U.S. Annual Refugee Resettlement Ceilings and Number of Refugees Admitted, 1980-Present.” [https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/us-refugee-resettlement](https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/us-refugee-resettlement). - HIAS. “The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) Explainer.” [https://www.hias.org/wp-content/uploads/USRAP-Explainer-May-2023-ver-13.pdf](https://www.hias.org/wp-content/uploads/USRAP-Explainer-May-2023-ver-13.pdf). - “VOLAG.” _Wikipedia._ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VOLAG](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VOLAG). - “Refugee Act of 1980.” _Wikipedia._ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugee_Act_of_1980](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugee_Act_of_1980). - Berkman, Jacob “Federations, JCPA teaming to fight delegitimization of Israel.” *Jewish Telegraphic Agency* [https://www.jta.org/2010/10/25/united-states/federations-jcpa-teaming-to-fight-delegitimization-of-israel](https://www.jta.org/2010/10/25/united-states/federations-jcpa-teaming-to-fight-delegitimization-of-israel). - “Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews.” _Wikipedia._ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Sunday_for_Soviet_Jews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Sunday_for_Soviet_Jews). - Kampeas, Ron. “Seeking renewed relevance, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs distances itself from federations.” *Jewish Telegraphic Agency* [https://www.jta.org/2022/12/19/politics/seeking-renewed-relevance-the-jewish-council-for-public-affairs-distances-itself-from-federations](https://www.jta.org/2022/12/19/politics/seeking-renewed-relevance-the-jewish-council-for-public-affairs-distances-itself-from-federations). - Odyssey Impact. “Ending Mass Incarceration – The Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration (EMI).” [https://emi.odyssey-impact.org/](https://emi.odyssey-impact.org/). - “David Bernstein (activist).” _Wikipedia._ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bernstein_(activist)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bernstein_\(activist\)). - Gross, Judah Ari. “JCPA Taps Amy Spitalnick to Lead Newly Independent Organization.” _eJewish Philanthropy._ May 9, 2023. [https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/jcpa-taps-amy-spitalnick-to-lead-newly-independent-organization/](https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/jcpa-taps-amy-spitalnick-to-lead-newly-independent-organization/). - Kauder, Ellie *(pseudonym)*. “David Bernstein’s JCPA Sides With a Monied Minority Against the Rest of Us.” _Jewish Currents._ August 26, 2017. https://www.jewishcurrents.org/david-bernsteins-jcpa-sides-with-a-monied-minority-against-the-rest-of-us - “600 plus Jewish groups sign full-page ad supporting Black Lives Matter.” _JNS._ [https://www.jns.org/600-plus-jewish-groups-sign-full-page-ad-supporting-black-lives-matter/](https://www.jns.org/600-plus-jewish-groups-sign-full-page-ad-supporting-black-lives-matter/). - “Jackson–Vanik Amendment.” _Wikipedia._ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson%E2%80%93Vanik_amendment#Lautenberg_Amendment_(1990)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson%E2%80%93Vanik_amendment#Lautenberg_Amendment_\(1990\)) *Covers the 1990 Lautenberg Amendment.* - Nathan-Kazis, Josh. “Exclusive: Jewish Umbrella Group Kept Quiet on Bannon to Avoid Offending Donors.” _Forward._ August 23, 2017. [https://forward.com/news/380857/exclusive-jewish-groups-did-not-call-for-bannons-firing-for-fear-of-losing/](https://forward.com/news/380857/exclusive-jewish-groups-did-not-call-for-bannons-firing-for-fear-of-losing/).