StandWithUs
Logo of StandWithUs
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| Formation | 2001 |
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| Headquarters | Los Angeles, CA |
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International Director
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Roz Rothstein |
| Website | http://www.standwithus.com |
StandWithUs is a non-profit pro-Israel education and advocacy organization based in Los Angeles. StandWithUs describes itself as an international, non-profit organization that believes that education is the road to peace. StandWithUs has an annual budget of about 9 million (in 2014).
The executive director and co-founder of StandWithUs is Roz Rothstein.
StandWithUs was founded in 2001 by Roz Rothstein, a family therapist in Los Angeles whose parents were Holocaust survivors. An article published in The Forward on 2 December 2011 explained that "during the height of the second intifada,” Rothstein "watched the news coming from Israel … with growing frustration. Feeling that Israel was not getting the backing it deserved in the United States, she and her husband, Jeremy, set up their own small group, with a stated mission of 'supporting people around the world who want to educate others about Israel.'"
The Rothsteins started StandWithUs to arrange a demonstration and secure a meeting with editors at the Los Angeles Times. Over the following decade, however, StandWithUs developed into a "major player," enjoying "close relations with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a constantly growing budget." It has an annual budget of over $9 million, (2014 990), most of which goes to fund student activities on U.S. campuses. The group is especially active in challenging the BDS ("boycott, divest and sanction") movement.
StandWithUs is based in Los Angeles, and has 18 chapters throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada and Israel. In 2009, nearly 15% of the group's budget went to the Israeli office, which every year trains 175 university students to be advocates for Israel.
The newest chapter of StandWithUs was opened in Rhode Island in 2015. In March 2016 they announced that there will soon be a chapter in Australia.
StandWithUs Canada opened in December 2012 in Toronto, with Meryle Kates as executive director. Although seed money was provided by the Los Angeles chapter, StandWithUs Canada is responsible for raising its own funds.
StandWithUs Israel has an active partnership with the Zionist Federation of Australia. Over 6,000 Australians have taken part in StandWithUs events, including a June 2010 conference in Jerusalem and an August 2010 speaking tour of Australia by Michelle Rojas-Tal.
StandWithUs is also known as "Israel Emergency Alliance". It has several divisions.
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