American Jewish Committee - Recent Efforts

Recent Efforts

In 2003, AJC opened in Brussels the Transatlantic Institute, aimed at fostering improved relations between Europe, Israel, and the U.S. That same year, it opened a Russian Affairs Division to identify and train new leaders in American Jewish public advocacy.

In 2005, as part of its continuing efforts to respond to humanitarian crises, the organization contributed $2.5 million to relief funds and reconstruction projects for the victims of the South Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

Under Executive Director David Harris, who was named to the post in 1990, AJC became increasingly involved in the international arena. Project Interchange, a previously independent body that ran seminars in Israel for influential Americans, became part of AJC.

In 1998, AJC became the first American Jewish organization to establish a full-time presence in Germany, opening an office in Berlin.

In 2001, AJC assumed responsibility for the Geneva-based UN Watch.

In 2003, AJC established the Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, aimed at fostering improved relations between Europe, Israel, and the U.S. Other offices were opened in Paris, Rome, Mumbai, and São Paulo. Regular meetings with foreign diplomats both in the U.S. and in their home countries were supplemented each September by what came to be called a "diplomatic marathon," a series of meetings with high-level representatives of foreign countries who were in New York for the UN General Assembly session. The number of participating nations eventually grew to over 70. The AJC annual meeting was moved from New York to Washington, D.C., so that more government officials and foreign diplomats might participate, and in 2010 the meeting was renamed the "global forum." Speakers at the event have included U.S. legislators, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; Secretaries of State Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright, and Hillary Clinton; Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ehud Olmert, and Benjamin Netanyahu; and presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers of other countries.

AJC became increasingly involved in the advocacy of energy independence for the U.S. on the grounds that this would reduce dependence on foreign, especially Arab, oil; boost the American economy; and improve the environment. AJC urged Congress and several Administrations to take action toward this goal, and called upon the private sector to be more energy-conscious. It adopted "Green" policies for itself institutionally, and in 2011 earned LEED certification, denoting that its New York headquarters was energy efficient and environmentally sound.

As part of a new strategic plan adopted in 2009, AJC envisioned itself as the "Global Center for Jewish and Israel Advocacy" and the "Central 'Jewish Address' for Intergroup Relations and Human Rights." Its new tagline was "Global Jewish Advocacy."