American Jewish Committee (AJC)

GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE (AJC) IS THE LEADING GLOBAL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE. WE WORK CLOSELY WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS, DIPLOMATS, RELIGIOUS LEADERS, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, CORPORATIONS, MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS, AMONG OTHER SECTORS OF CIVIL SOCIETY. THROUGH THESE RELATIONSHIPS, OUR 25 U.S. REGIONAL OFFICES, 15 OVERSEAS POSTS AND REGIONAL INSTITUTES THAT SERVE AS OUR ADVOCACY HUBS IN AFRICA, ASIA, EUROPE, LATIN AMERICA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST, AND 38 PARTNERSHIPS WITH JEWISH COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE, AJC IS ABLE TO IMPACT OPINION AND POLICY ON SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING THE JEWISH PEOPLE: COUNTERING ANTISEMITISM AND ALL FORMS OF HATE, STRENGTHENING ISRAEL'S PLACE IN THE WORLD, AND PROMOTING PLURALISM AND DEFENDING DEMOCRATIC VALUES. AJC's DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY EFFORTS INVOLVE EXTENSIVE OUTREACH TO, AND INTERACTION AND JOINT PROGRAMMING WITH, U.S. AND FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, POLITICAL FACTIONS, POLICY EXPERTS, MEDIA OUTLETS, AND CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERS, INCLUDING OVERSEAS JEWISH COMMUNITIES. WITH THE GLOBAL JEWISH COMMUNITY STILL REELING FROM THE HORRORS OF HAMAS' BRUTAL ATTACK ON OCTOBER 7, 2023 -THE WORST MASSACRE OF JEWS SINCE THE HOLOCAUST, AJC MOBILIZED ITS UNPARALLELED GLOBAL NETWORK TO TACKLE THE UNPRECEDENTED THREATS FACING WORLD JEWRY. FROM WORLD CAPITALS TO COLLEGE CAMPUSES, AJC WORKED WITH LEADERS ACROSS SOCIETY TO SUPPORT ISRAEL AND COMBAT SURGING ANTISEMITISM, AND WE LEVERAGE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS TO EDUCATE, COUNTER MISINFORMATION, AND SHAPE PUBLIC OPINION. AJC RELEASED ITS ANNUAL STATE OF ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA REPORT, ADVOCATED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF ITS "CALL TO ACTION AGAINST ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA," WHICH PROVIDES THE NECESSARY DATA TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, RESPOND TO, AND PREVENT ANTISEMITISM. AJC ALSO MADE. THE AGENCY ALSO RALLIED THE UNITED STATES, EUROPEAN AND MIDDLE EAST ALLIES, AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO UNITE IN ACTION TO DECISIVELY HALT IRAN'S QUEST FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS, CURTAIL ITS CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS PROGRAM, AND CHECK ITS REGIONAL AGGRESSION AND INTERNAL OPPRESSION.

Communications: Ajc's global communications department serves as the agency's chief storyteller. The department supports and amplifies the efforts of every department within Ajc and of the organization as a whole, while advancing its advocacy agenda and broadening awareness and appreciation of Ajc's brand by means of strategic communications methods. The department supports Ajc's priorities and mission by conceiving, developing, and implementing major agency-wide campaigns and initiatives, solidifying Ajc's brand identity as the global advocate for the Jewish people, producing compelling content about Ajc's priority issues and distributing it to an expanding audience, and utilizing a variety of means to build an ongoing relationship with current and potential supporters. With the largest social media following of any Jewish organization in the world, including social media accounts in english, french, spanish, arabic and german, Ajc interacts frequently with millions of users, from diplomats, and elected officials, to media elites. They, in turn, share Ajc's advocacy messages with their constituencies, allowing Ajc to reach and engage a wide audience around the globe.

The department of regional offices network of 25 offices advances Ajc's advocacy, leadership and fundraising priorities across the united states. In locations where Ajc does not have a physical presence, we work with partners to accomplish Ajc's objectives, including global diplomacy, political advocacy, coalition building, and strategic communications. The regional offices communicate and advocate with a variety of key interlocutors, including elected officials, diplomats, intergroup and interfaith leaders, civic leaders, university administrators, campus leaders and the media. They connect the local to the global and position Ajc as the go-to Jewish advocacy organization in the united states. In 2023, Ajc national efforts focused on addressing the aftermath of the october 7 attack, including the spike in antisemitism, and unfounded attacks on the Jewish state around the world and in multilateral forums. Major resources were devoted to educating uninformed audiences through trainings and webinars, addressing gaps in hate crime reporting in the u.s. to protect communities that are victims of these attacks, and setting the record straight when it comes to israel's efforts to neutralize terrorists threats, from hamas, to hezbollah, among others.

Ajc's other 2023 programmatic activities include: (1) interreligious and intergroup relations: Ajc builds coalitions with like-minded partners to advance shared interests and values, and to further understanding. The agency firmly believes that the well-being of the Jewish community is linked to that of other faith and minority groups in the united states and around the world. With this goal in mind, Ajc facilitates spaces of productive exchange for muslims and jews to collaborate. We have also convened a black-jewish congressional council, and a latino-jewish leadership council, among other partership building initiatives; (2) contemporary Jewish life: Ajc strives to strengthen Jewish continuity and to enrich the relationship of jews in the diaspora with the state of israel, bridging the growing divide between American jews and israeli society -especially following the attack of october 7 - enhancing intra-jewish relations, enriching the quality and meaning of leading a Jewish life, and raising the knowledge level of jews concerning the treasures of judaic heritage; (3) young leadership: from high school and college students through young professionals, the alexander young leadership department strives to empower young jews to become active global Jewish advocates, while recruiting and cultivating the rising generation of Ajc leadership.