Direct Mail Fundraising Material - ISRAEL AFFINITY ORGANIZATIONS

Israel affinity organizations (IAOs) conduct massive direct mail fundraising campaigns that raise billions of dollars in the United States. Common fundraising themes include protecting Israel as a lone democracy surrounded by threats in a "bad neighborhood," the United Nations as a perpetual obstacle to Israeli initiatives, and the need for Americans to urge their legislators to provide ever-larger amounts of taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel.

IAOs are not always forthright about what how the funds they raise are spent. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews emphasizes food deliveries to the poor, but conducts risky overseas covert operations in partnership with the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) claims it works solely on buttressing the US-Israel "special relationship," but has been embroiled in three separate espionage-related investigations. The Anti-Defamation League has had its own operations exposed as privately funded—and at times unlawful—undercover investigations and covert operations.

Reading current fundraising appeals sent by Israel lobby organizations to their donors—juxtaposed with short historical descriptions—reveals a bigger picture. The fundraising appeals reveal what IAOs think will trigger supporters to give, and the grassroots actions they say will advance Israel from its most important unconditional benefactor—the United States.

American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Birthright Israel
B'nai B'rith International (BBI)
Facts and Logic about the Middle East (FLAME)
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ)
World Jewish Congress (WJC)
Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)