World Jewish Congress
| הקונגרס היהודי העולמי (Hebrew) Congrès Juif Mondial (French) Congreso Judío Mundial (Spanish) Zsidó Világkongresszus (Hungarian) Jüdischer Weltkongress (German) Всемирный Еврейский Конгресс (Russian) Congresso Ebraico Mondiale (Italian) Światowy Kongres Żydowski (Polish) المؤتمر اليهودي العالمي (Arabic) |
|
| Formation | 1936 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
| Headquarters | 501 Madison Avenue New York City, United States |
|
Region served
|
Worldwide |
|
President
|
Ronald S. Lauder |
|
Key people
|
David de Rothschild, Chairman of the Governing Board Robert Singer, Chief Executive Officer |
|
Main organ
|
Plenary Assembly |
| Website | www |
David de Rothschild, Chairman of the Governing Board
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as "the diplomatic arm of the Jewish people." Membership in the WJC is open to all representative Jewish groups or communities, irrespective of the social, political or economic ideology of the community's host country. The World Jewish Congress headquarters are in New York City, US, and the organization maintains international offices in Brussels, Belgium; Jerusalem, Israel; Paris, France; Moscow, Russia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Geneva, Switzerland. The WJC has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
The WJC is made up of five regional branches: WJC North America, the Latin American Jewish Congress, the European Jewish Congress, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, and the WJC Israel. Besides that, Jewish umbrella organizations in 100 countries are directly affiliated to the World Jewish Congress. Its highest decision-making body is the Plenary Assembly, which meets every four years and elects the lay leadership (Executive Committee) of the WJC. In between plenary assemblies, meetings of the WJC Governing Board are normally held once a year. Affiliated Jewish organizations send delegates to these two WJC bodies; their number depends on the size of the Jewish communities they represent.
A special meeting of the Plenary Assembly, attended by over 400 delegates and observers from over 70 countries, was held in Buenos Aires in March 2015. The last regular plenary assembly was held Budapest in May 2013, with 600 delegates and observers in attention.
...
Wikipedia