2025-10-13 02:47:PM <br/> Tags: #organization #ReligiousJudaism #AmericanJewry #EarlyZionism ![[image-149.png|593x237]] # Religious Zionists of America (Mizrachi) - The Religious Zionists of American (RZA), initially known as the Mizrachi Organization of America, is a prominent Orthodox Jewish-Zionist organization. - RZA was launched in the 1910s as the American branch of the broader Mizrachi movement. - The global Mizrachi movement was founded in 1902 in Europe as a branch of the [[World Zionist Organization]]. - In 1913 rabbi [[Meir Bar-Ilan]] arrived from Europe to lead American Mizrachi. - Rabbi [[Yehuda Leib Maimon]] was another founder of Mizrachi in the United States around 1913. - In the 1920s Maimon, with [[Abraham Isaac Kook]], founded Israel's [[Chief Rabbinate]]. - Maimon helped to write, and later signed, Israel's declarations of Independence in 1948. - The 1914 Cincinnati, Ohio Mizrachi conference is often considered the founding date of the RZA. - The Cincinnati event was attended by over 70 delegates from ~30 Orthodox Jewish/Zionist localities. #### RZA in the United States - In the early 1900s when the RZA was founded, it was somewhat unorthodox for religious Judaism to be mixed with political Zionism. - The American Zionists of the era were largely reform or secular Jews. - Mizrachi's rise in the 1910s/20s was was both a symptom and a cause of religious Judaism embracing the Zionist project. - By the eighth American Mizrachi conference in 1921, Mizrachi rabbis had taken control of the [[Union of Orthodox Rabbis]]. - From this point the RZA had a strong influence on the direction of Jewish Orthodoxy in the United States. - By the mid 1920s, the RZA was aligned with the [[Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)]] and its leading figures. - In 1925 the Mizrachi Women's Organization of America was founded (MWOA). - The MWOA was later renamed to [[AMIT]]. - In 1928 the RZA fundraising entity, the Mizrachi Palestine Fund, was founded. - In 1936, the Mizrachi Palestine Fund was absorbed by the [[United Israel Appeal]]. --- - During WWII, the RZA was a member of the American Zionist Emergency Council (AZEC). - The AZEC lobbied in Washington on behalf of world Jewry. - The AZEC became the [[American Zionist Council (AZC)]] in 1949. - The AZEC's lobbying wing was called the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (AZCPA). - The AZCPA broke away from the AZC when the latter came under federal scrutiny in the 1950s. - In 1959 the AZCPA changed its name to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee - [[AIPAC]]. - In the mid 1960s AIPAC absorbed the rest of the AZC's activities and the AZC ceased to exist. - Leon Gellman, the American Mizrachi leader in the 30s and later World Mizrachi leader in Israel, urged AZEC leader rabbi [[Stephen S. Wise]] to incorporate the aggressive rabbi [[Abba Hillel Silver]] into AZEC leadership. - Gellman and Mizrachi favored aggressive lobbying and advocacy initiatives in D.C. over the perceived soft approach of rabbi [[Stephen S. Wise]]. --- - Mizrachi is a member of the [[Conference of Presidents]]. - The CoP is the umbrella organization for roughly the largest 50 American Jewish organizations. - The RZA is closely affiliated with the [[Rabbinical Council of America (RCA)]]. - Many RCA rabbis are also prominent figures within the RZA. - The current RZA chair [[Martin Oliner]], directly advocated for Israel to intentionally kill civilians in the [[Gaza War]] following [[October 7th]]. - Oliner also said Israel should "take lessons" from the American use of atomic bombs on Japan. - Oliner made these comments in May 2024, at an [[Israel Heritage Foundation (IHF)]] event held in [[Donald Trump|Trump]] Tower in New York. - The IHF is a mostly behind-the-scenes organization that worked hard to elect Trump in 24'. - The IHF has close ties to many of Trump's cabinet members and high level Israeli politicians. - The current RZA president is Stephen Flatow. - Flatow's daughter was killed in a suicide bombing near Gaza in 1995. - Flatow is a lawyer who now brings legal action against Iran on behalf of the United States. - Flatow praises [[Donald Trump]]'s hardline approach regarding Iran and his delivered promises for Israel. - After [[October 7th]], the RZA was one of many signatories of an [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]] letter to the UN Secretary General. #### RZA in Israel - The American Mizrachi movement boasts that, "more American Mizrachi members fulfilled their Zionist ideology by actual settlement in Israel than did members of any other American Zionist group." - The 'founding father' of Orthodox religious Zionism is [[Abraham Isaac Kook]]. - Kook, though he was based in Palestine and somewhat critical of Mizrachi, had a significant influence on American Orthodox support for Jewish nationalism. - Kook visited the US in 1924 to raise money for the Zionist project. At this time he was embraced by the Mizrachi/Orthodox Jews of the United States. - Rabbi [[Herbert S. Goldstein]], who acted as Kook's interpreter during his 1924 visit, was on Mizrachi's executive committee at the time. - Rabbi [[Wolf Gold]], the RZA Mizrachi leader from 1932-35, was among the founding signatories of Israel's declaration of statehood in 1948. - Gold was involved in lobbying president Truman to support the creation of Israel in 1948. - Since 1948, the RZA has been heavily involved in aiding Jewish immigration to Israel (aliyah). - The RZA works with Israel's [[Jewish Agency]] to send Orthodox emissaries to American Jewish communities to speak about religious Zionism. - The RZA strongly backs programs to sending Jewish youth to spend a year in Israel. - The RZA has recently won a larger number of seats in the [[World Zionist Organization]]'s World Zionist Congress 2025 elections. #### Funding - The RZA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. - The RZA has a relatively small annual revenue around $400,000. - The RZA relies on donor money to operate. Some of those donors include: - [[Harry Fischel]] (early 1900s) - [[Martin Oliner]] - current RZA chairman - World Mizrachi (parent organization) - Israeli Ministry of Education - Pooled donations from Orthodox congregations #### References - Salmon, Yosef. “The Mizrachi Movement in America: A Belated but Sturdy Offshoot.” _American Jewish Archives Journal_ 48, no. 2 (1996): 161–175. [https://sites.americanjewisharchives.org/publications/journal/PDF/1996_48_02_00_salmon.pdf](https://sites.americanjewisharchives.org/publications/journal/PDF/1996_48_02_00_salmon.pdf). - “Religious Zionists of America.” Official website. https://rza.org/. - Mischel, Elie “Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan: The Promise and Peril of America.” _World Mizrachi – HaMizrachi Magazine_, 2025. [https://mizrachi.org/hamizrachi/rabbi-meir-bar-ilan-the-promise-and-peril-of-america/](https://mizrachi.org/hamizrachi/rabbi-meir-bar-ilan-the-promise-and-peril-of-america/). - Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Mizrachi Demands Reorganization of Zionist Emergency Council; Asks Recall of Silver.” _JTA Archive_, 1945. [https://www.jta.org/archive/mizrachi-demands-reorganization-of-zionist-emergency-council-asks-recall-of-silver](https://www.jta.org/archive/mizrachi-demands-reorganization-of-zionist-emergency-council-asks-recall-of-silver). - “Rav Kook’s Mission to America.” RavKookTorah.org. [https://ravkooktorah.org/RAV-KOOK-IN-AMERICA.htm](https://ravkooktorah.org/RAV-KOOK-IN-AMERICA.htm). - “Abraham Isaac Kook.” _Wikipedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Isaac_Kook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Isaac_Kook). - “AMIT.” Jewish Women’s Archive Encyclopedia. [https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/amit](https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/amit). - “AMIT (Mizrachi Women’s Organization of America).” _Jewish Virtual Library_. [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/amit](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/amit). - Heller, Mathilda. “Orthodox slates dominate US vote for World Zionist Congress.” _The Jerusalem Post_, June 6, 2025. [https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-856793](https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-856793). - Wagenheim, Mike. “Orthodox votes increased in World Zionist Congress elections, per initial results.” _JNS_, June 6, 2025. [https://www.jns.org/orthodox-votes-increased-in-world-zionist-congress-elections-per-initial-results/](https://www.jns.org/orthodox-votes-increased-in-world-zionist-congress-elections-per-initial-results/). - “Signatories to the Israeli Declaration of Independence.” _Jewish Virtual Library_. [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/signatories-to-the-israeli-declaration-of-independence](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/signatories-to-the-israeli-declaration-of-independence). - “70 Mizrachi Movement Leaders to Inspire 70th Independence Day Celebrations in 70 Diaspora Locations.” _The Jewish Press_, April 12, 2018. https://jewishpress.com/news/israel/70-mizrachi-movement-leaders-to-inspire-70th-independence-day-celebrations-in-70-diaspora-locations/2018/04/12/ - Religious Zionists of America-Mizrachi Hapoel Hamizrachi. Form 990 filings. _CauseIQ_ profile with links to PDFs (e.g., 2021, 2022). [https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/religious-zionists-of-america-mizrachi-hapoel-hami%2C135611746/](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/religious-zionists-of-america-mizrachi-hapoel-hami%2C135611746/). - “Religious Zionists of America.” _Wikipedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Zionists_of_America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Zionists_of_America). - Stellmacher, Glen. "New York nonprofit tied to 2024 Trump campaign and senior Israeli officials.” _Prism Reports_, September 17, 2025. [https://prismreports.org/2025/09/17/israel-heritage-foundation-trump-israeli-government/](https://prismreports.org/2025/09/17/israel-heritage-foundation-trump-israeli-government/). - Stellmacher, Glen. “‘Maybe we need to kill more civilians,’ speaker told gathering hosted by pro-Israel nonprofit in New York.” _Prism Reports_, March 27, 2025. [https://prismreports.org/2025/03/27/israel-heritage-foundation-martin-oliner-israel-gaza/](https://prismreports.org/2025/03/27/israel-heritage-foundation-martin-oliner-israel-gaza/).