World Jewish Congress

Basic Structure

New York City is home to the WJC headquarters, and the group maintains international offices in [Page 2186]several other countries on three continents. High-level decisions are made by the Plenary Assembly, which meets every four years and elects an executive committee and governing board. The WJC comprises five regional divisions: the WJC North America, the Latin American Jewish Congress, the European Jewish Congress, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, and the WJC Israel. A steering committee, composed of the organization's president, chairman of the governing board, treasurer, and the chairs of the five regional divisions manages the organization's day-to-day operations.

Delegates at the World Jewish Congress (WJC) at the 25th Anniversary Conference in Switzerland in 1961. The group was founded in 1936 in Geneva, Switzerland, as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. The purpose of the WJC is to act as “the diplomatic arm of the Jewish people.” The headquarters are located in New York City, with international offices worldwide.

The World Jewish Congress also operates a research institute in Jerusalem, Israel. The institute's mission is to analyze and report on a wide range of issues that the group's leadership deems to be of importance to Jews. The institute's reports are published as policy dispatches and are freely available. Also within the auspices of the WJC Israel is the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR), the policy-crafting body of the WJC. The IFCR publishes Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, which states the WJC's position on international affairs.

Key History and Policies

The WJC has played an important role in Jewish life since it was founded in 1936. The organization was created to counter the growing threat of Nazism and the accompanying anti-Semitism in Europe. Its immediate purpose was to defend the Jewish people against Nazism and mobilize both Jewish people and the forces of democracy in the fight to end the persecution of European Jews Other important objectives were the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine and the formation of a democratic, representative organization based on the core value of Jewish unity.

In 1942, the WJC convened a conference to establish the Advisory Council on European Jewish Affairs. This council was composed of exiled representatives of the various Jewish communities under Nazi rule. During World War II, the WJC focused on urging American Jewish organizations to pressure the U.S. government to waive immigration quotas so that a greater number of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazism could settle in the United States. On August 8, 1942, Gerhart Riegner, [Page 2187]the WJC's secretary in Geneva, sent British and American diplomatic officials a telegram stating that the Nazis had discussed plans to “exterminate” 3 to 4 million Jews.

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