American Jews donate at high levels to charity. One way they support causes in the U.S., Israel and other places is collective, often through large grant-making organizations.
In researching this organized philanthropy, I’ve observed that the proportion of Jewish institutional giving to Israeli causes has fallen since 2009. I believe that several factors, including demographic and social changes, a diminishing perception of Israel as being in need and concerns over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have probably been driving this decline for years.
More recently, Israel’s increasingly conservative policies on social and religious issues, which are often at odds with what most American Jews support, might also be playing a role.
A tradition of support
American Jews proved a major source of philanthropic support for the Israeli state and Israeli societythroughout the 20th century. A network of Jewish fundraising and advocacy groups have long organized collective donations and lobbying efforts.
These groups make major donations to large Israeli nonprofits, like the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Joint Distribution Committee, which then distribute them to smaller, local nonprofits.
However, knowledge about the actual scope of Jewish philanthropic contributions to Israel is limited. Data collected by my colleagues at Brandeis University indicate a steady increase from $1.05 billion annually in 1975 to $2.05 billion in 2007 in real dollars.
And data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that charitable gifts to organizations in Israel, from sources in…
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