The Zionist movement refers to itself as the “World Zionist Organization” and “Global Zionism.” Zionism, as previously mentioned, is primarily a Western phenomenon, as it is virtually unknown among the peoples of Asia and Africa for the simple reason that there are no Jewish communities in those regions. It has since become primarily an American phenomenon for two reasons: the United States hosts the largest and most powerful Jewish community in the world, and the U.S. itself is the imperial patron of the Zionist enclave. In this section, we will explore the various Zionist organizations in the United States.

American Zionist Federation

The “American Zionist Federation” is the umbrella organization that includes all Zionist organizations in the United States. It was established in 1970 based on a resolution issued by the 27th Zionist Congress (1968), which called for strengthening the Zionist movement by establishing national Zionist organizations or federations in all countries. Its roots go back to the Emergency Committee for Zionist Affairs, founded in 1939 to unify the efforts of Zionist organizations to pressure the U.S. government in favor of the Zionist project in Palestine. It was reorganized in 1943 as the “American Zionist Emergency Council” under the leadership of Abba Hillel Silver. Then, in 1949, it became the American Zionist Council, acting as the coordinating body for American Zionist organizations.

The American Zionist Federation supports Zionist efforts in communal, public, educational, youth, and immigration affairs related to Israel. It works to cultivate interest in what is referred to as “Jewish culture” among Jewish community members in the U.S. and to reinforce their commitment to Zionist goals as outlined in the Jerusalem Program. The Federation also works to reach the non-Jewish American public to promote Israel, assert the alignment of American and Israeli interests, and effectively respond to criticisms. Lastly, it directs its members through media campaigns regarding issues affecting Israel or Zionism.

Objectives and Activities

The Federation sponsors programs aiming to strengthen the bond between the Jewish community in the U.S. and Israel. These programs include exchange visits by academics, educators, journalists, businessmen, clergy, and other community segments. The Federation also organizes conferences, markets, and exhibitions to encourage immigration to Israel. It has a particular interest in the academic sector, having established a Zionist Academic Council whose goal is to recruit university professors across the U.S. in service of Israel and Zionism.

Like other American Zionist organizations, the Federation suffers from a general decline in importance and effectiveness. There is no longer a clear distinction between Zionist and non-Zionist organizations in the U.S.; in fact, the latter enjoy greater organizational experience and a broader popular base. As a result, they have taken over the roles of promoting Israel, defending it, fundraising for it, and lobbying on its behalf. In addition, the legitimacy of territorial (non-immigrant) Zionists has eroded due to their failure to immigrate to Israel, alongside debates over the very nature of Zionism and the general erosion of Zionist thought.

The American Zionist Federation is a tax-exempt organization that includes 61 Zionist organizations and youth movements. Membership is also open to Jewish non-Zionist organizations and institutions. These fall into two additional categories:

1.     Affiliated organizations that accept the Jerusalem Program even if their members are not necessarily Zionists.

2.    Associated organizations, which are national institutions with a Zionist orientation and have historically had actual ties with the Zionist movement.

In 1983, the Federation estimated its membership at over one million members.

The sixteen member organizations of the Federation include:

• The American Zionist Youth Council
• The American Jewish League for Israel
• Amit Women in America (formerly Mizrachi Women)
• Americans for Progressive Israel
• B’nai Zion
• Emunah Women
• Hadassah
• Mercaz (Zionist arm of Conservative Judaism)
• Labor Zionist Alliance
• North American Aliyah Movement
• Pioneer Women (Na’amat)
• Association of Reform Zionists of America
• Religious Zionists of America
• Herut
• Zionist Organization of America
• Zionist Student Movement

There are three affiliated organizations:

• American Sephardi Federation
• Association of Parents of American Israelis
• League of Women for Israel

And two associated organizations:

• American Zionist Youth Foundation
• Jewish National Fund

In February 1993, the Federation decided to change its name to the American Zionist Movement.

American Zionist Movement

The “American Zionist Movement” is the new name for the American Zionist Federation (since February 1993). This change only adds to the ambiguity and obfuscation, as the term “movement” in all political literature does not typically refer to a specific regional organization.

Zionist Organization of America

Founding and Early Years

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) was established in 1898 under the name “Federation of American Zionists” following the convening of the First Zionist Congress in 1897. Richard Gottheil was elected president, and Rabbi Stephen Wise served as honorary secretary. The organization started off weak and struggled to assert central authority over its affiliated Zionist groups due to internal conflicts between its leadership—drawn from the Americanized Jewish bourgeoisie of German origin—and its base of poor Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe with Yiddish culture.

Activities Before World War I

The organization focused on Zionist propaganda and launched in 1901 the first official Zionist magazine in English, followed by a Yiddish newspaper in 1909. It also established Zionist institutes, paid attention to youth and Hebrew language education, and supported the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Colonial Trust. It also opposed anti-Zionist Jewish American elements, mainly represented by the Reform Jewish movement.

World War I and the Brandeis Era

With the outbreak of World War I, the center of Zionist activity shifted to the U.S., and in 1914, the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs was established under Louis Brandeis’s leadership. It led most of the Zionist activity in the U.S. during the war and established a fund to support Jewish settlement in Palestine and aid Jewish war victims in Europe. It also proposed the establishment of the American Jewish Congress.

After the war, this committee merged with the Federation of American Zionists to form the Zionist Organization of America under Brandeis’s honorary presidency. It was to be a central organization run by a national office and based on individual membership. Brandeis believed the organization’s main role was fundraising by attracting private capital to fund specific projects in Palestine. He was skeptical about the effectiveness of establishing the Jewish Foundation Fund, which European Zionist leaders—especially Chaim Weizmann—favored.

This disagreement, along with his ideological conflict with Weizmann over the nature of Zionism, led to Brandeis and his supporters withdrawing from the organization during the 1921 conference. After that, the organization focused on fundraising but did not achieve notable success. It opposed the relief campaigns of other American Jewish organizations that aimed to settle Russian Jews in Crimea and Ukraine in the Soviet Union.

Consequently, the ZOA participated in unifying Zionist fundraising efforts under one umbrella: the United Palestine Appeal in 1924.

World War II and Postwar Activities

Nevertheless, the organization remained unattractive to many, with membership falling from 149,000 in 1918 (a year after the Balfour Declaration) to 18,000 in 1929. After the outbreak of World War II, the organization participated in unifying the efforts of major Zionist organizations to establish a Jewish Commonwealth in Palestine. It helped found the 1942 Biltmore Program and had previously participated in founding the Emergency Committee for Zionist Affairs in 1939, which became the American Zionist Emergency Council in 1943 and then the American Zionist Council in 1949—serving as a coordinated body for the major Zionist organizations in the U.S.

The organization’s activities and membership increased under the leadership of Abba Hillel Silver (1945–1947) and Emanuel Neumann (1947–1949). Both were members of the U.S. section of the Jewish Agency in 1947 and 1948 and were active in lobbying the U.S. government to support the 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine.

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