Jewish Agency

Jewish Agency for Israel

The Jewish Agency for Israel (Hebrew: הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, romanized: HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine,[5] is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). The stated mission of the Agency is to "ensure that every Jewish person feels an unbreakable bond to one another and to Israel no matter where they live in the world, so that they can continue to play their critical role in our ongoing Jewish story." It is best-known as the primary organization fostering the immigration of Jews in diaspora to the Land of Israel (known as aliyah) and overseeing their integration with the State of Israel.[7] Since 1948, the Jewish Agency has brought 3 million immigrants to Israel, and offers them transitional housing in "absorption centres" throughout the country.

(Jewish Agency headquarters, Jerusalem)

The Jewish Agency played a central role in the founding and the development of the State of Israel. David Ben-Gurion served as its Chairman of the Executive Committee from 1935, and in this capacity on 14 May 1948, he proclaimed Israel's independence,[10] following which he served as the first Israeli prime minister. In the years preceding the founding of Israel, the Jewish Agency oversaw the establishment of about 1,000 towns and villages in the British Mandate of Palestine. The organization serves as the main link between Israel and Jewish communities around the world.

As of 2019, the Jewish Agency operates and/or funds programs worldwide that: Connect young Jews to Israel and their Jewish identity, such as "Israel experience" trips, Jewish summer camps and day school programs, and encounters with Israelis. Connect young Israelis to the Jewish people and their Jewish identity, such as sister-city style partnerships in "Partnership2Gether"; support for Reform, Conservative and Modern Orthodox educational programs; and the "Ami-Unity" initiative. Facilitate aliyah and immigrant absorption, such as pre-aliyah services, post-aliyah transitional housing and lessons to learn the Hebrew language. Help vulnerable populations in Israel, such as "Youth Futures" mentoring programs, residential "Youth Villages" for at-risk teenagers, and subsidized housing for the elderly. By law, the Jewish Agency is a parastatal organization, but does not receive core funding from the Israeli government. The Jewish Agency is funded by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), Keren Hayesod, major Jewish communities and federations, and foundations and donors from Israel and around the world. In 2008, the Jewish Agency won the Israel Prize for its historical contribution to Israel and to the Jewish community worldwide.

Current programs As of 2019, the Jewish Agency sponsors dozens of programs that connect Jews to Israel and to each other. The Agency organizes the programs into four different categories: 1. Connecting young Jews to Israel and their Jewish identity (Jewish and Zionist education in the Jewish diaspora), 2. Connecting young Israelis to the Jewish people and their Jewish identity, 3. Aliyah and absorption, 4. Supporting vulnerable populations in Israel.

Some programs: The Israel Experience programs bring young Jews from around the globe to Israel to get to know the country and deepen their Jewish identities.

Taglit-Birthright Israel provides ten-day educational trips to Israel, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights for Jews ages 18 to 26 from around the world, completely free of charge. The Jewish Agency is the largest organizational partner in the initiative and is directly involved in bringing thousands of participants on Taglit-Birthright each year, with a special focus on facilitating Taglit-Birthright experiences for participants from the United States and from the former Soviet Union (FSU).

Masa Israel Journey is a public-service organization founded in 2004 by the Government of Israel's Office of the Prime Minister, together with the Jewish Agency.  It includes programs in Israel for Jews aged 18–30, including study programs, service programs, and career development. Programs last from 2–12 months.[26] In 2018 it provided scholarships to nearly 9,800 participants. Masa also performs outreach and operates alumni activities.

Israel Tech Challenge is a partnership of the Jewish Agency with the National Cyber Bureau and other partners and donors. It offers trips to Israel of varying lengths for students and young professionals (aged 18–30) with knowledge in the field of computer science and programming. The programs offer visits with Israeli hi-tech professionals and academics, along with experience or training in coding, cyber security and/or data science.

Machon Le Madrichim trains Jewish counselors from Zionist youth movements around the world in Israel, to give them tools for running educational Zionist programs in their home communities when they return. It was founded in 1946 by the World Zionist Organization. As of 2018, it had 17,000 alumni from around the world. Today the Machon trains several hundred young leaders each year.

Na'ale allows Jewish teenagers from the diaspora to study in Israel and earn a high school diploma. Students start the program in ninth or tenth grade and graduate after the twelfth grade with a full Israeli matriculation certificate (bagrut). During the first year, students follow an intensive Hebrew-language program so that they become able to speak, read and write in Hebrew. The program is fully subsidized by the Israeli government. The Na'ale scholarship includes: fully subsidized tuition, free ticket to Israel, room and board, health insurance, trips, and extra curricular activities. Na'ale offers a variety of schools all over Israel from which candidates may choose, including secular, national religious, ultra-orthodox, kibbutz, and urban boarding schools. The Jewish Agency is involved in recruitment in the former Soviet Union.

"Students before Parents" ("סטודנטים לפני הורים", abbreviated as סל"ה, SELA, Selah), a program for young immigrants from the countries of the former Soviet Union aimed at the preparation to the education in Israel, bringing young Jews to Israel in hopes that their families follow them. The program includes learning Hebrew, English, mathematics, and Jewish history and tradition.

Jewish and Zionist education outside Israel In its mission to strengthen the ties between Israel and worldwide Jewry and to promote Jewish culture and identity, the Jewish Agency sends out shlichim, or emissaries, to Jewish communities across the globe; partners with Israel and Diaspora communities, and operates and/or funds Jewish educational programs. It also supports Jewish inclusion and diversity programs.

Jewish Agency Israel Fellows are Israeli young adults who have completed army service and university study. These "Campus Shlichim" travel for two years university campuses with the goal of empowering student leadership and promoting positive engagement with Israel. According to the Jewish Agency, the aims of an Israel Fellow are to "create an ongoing Israel presence for Jewish students and the broader community . . . . partner with student organizations, campus study abroad offices, Jewish and Israel studies departments, local Jewish federations, Israeli consulates, and Jewish Community Centers ... [and] follow through with Taglit-Birthright trip alumni via one-on-one meetings and special programs and events to keep them active and encourage them to continue their Jewish journeys while in college." In 2017–18, 92 Fellows were sent to campuses in North America, South America, and other regions.

Shlichim (Jewish Agency "emissaries") are active in communal organizations, Jewish schools, community centers, synagogues and youth movements. There are also summer Shlichim who serve in Jewish summer camps. They serve as a central resource for Israel education in the local community. In the 2017–18 program year, the Jewish Agency sent 1,388 short-term emissaries to summer camps and other programs, and around 400 long-term emissaries to countries around the world (not including the Israel Fellows).

Programs for Russian-speaking Jewry: The organization has developed special outreach to Russian Jewry, because they have largely been separated from Jewish communities even after the fall of the Soviet Union. Only an estimated 20 percent of the 800,000 Jews across former Soviet states are engaged in Jewish life. And Russian Jews who have emigrated to other countries have often been separated from Jewish community life. The Agency runs programs for them (in the former Soviet Union, Germany, Austria and Israel) that fall are organized into four areas: (1) Camping, youth education, and counselor training (2) leadership training (3) visits to Israel (4) Focus on facilitation of Aliyah from the former Soviet Union and Germany.

FSU Summer and Winter Camps introduce young Russian-speaking Jews in the former Soviet Union to their Jewish heritage. Staffed by trained local counselors and Russian-speaking Israeli counselors, participants are introduced to Jewish history, Jewish customs and practices, and Israel. The Agency organizes counselors to follow up with attendees in year-round Jewish educational activities. In 2018, some 8,200 participants in the former Soviet Union attended sleepaway camps and 1,487 went to day camps

The Emergency Assistance Fund provides for physical security improvements, such as video surveillance & CCTV, alarms, locks, gates, and reinforced walls/doors/windows, at synagogues, Jewish community centers, schools, and camps so that Jewish communal life can continue in greater safety. Jewish institutions outside Israel and North America are eligible for assistance. The 2018 allocations totaled around $1.4 million: $781,000 to institutions in Europe, $423,000 to facilities in Latin America, $82,000 to those in the former Soviet Union, and $109,000 to the Middle East. As of the end of 2018, the Fund has allocated over $11.5 million to hundreds of institutions in dozens of countries.

Jewish People Policy Institute focuses on strategic thinking and global policy planning on six issues critical to the Jewish future: geopolitics; Jewish identity; community bonds; economic assets and influence; demography; and literacy, creativity, and innovation. The institute, established by the Jewish Agency in 2002 as an independent think tank, has engaged the best minds in the areas of strategy and planning in the Jewish world. The staff examines the challenges, threats, and opportunities faced by the Jewish people and develops action-oriented policy recommendations for the government of Israel and major Jewish organizations.[24] JPPI holds annual conferences and meetings that explore the Jewish condition. Participants have included Dennis Ross, Shimon Peres, Natan Sharansky, Malcolm Hoenlein, and Tzipi Livni. The Institute conducts meetings, publishes reports and position papers, and produces contingency plans that help the development of Jewish communities around the world.

Connecting young Israelis to the Jewish people and their Jewish identity

Partnership 2gether (P2G, previously known as Partnership 2000) is the "peoplehood platform" that connects some 450 Jewish and Israeli communities in 46 partnerships. The program has more than 350,000 participants each year. Its goals are to "connect the global Jewish family, increase Jewish identity, strengthen Israeli society, create living bridges to Israel and understanding of life in the Jewish state, and increase understanding of the rich variety of religious expression and renewal around the world."

The Global School Twinning Network connects schools in Israel to Jewish schools around the world, usually as part of a P2G partnership. Students share projects and communicate via Skype and Facebook. The Network includes 668 schools in 334 pairings, serving about 52,000 children and teens.

Support for Religious Streams: In 2014, the Jewish Agency allocated $2.8 million to 30 educational programs in Israel under the auspices of the Reform, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox movements. Their goal is to "help Israelis understand the varied expressions of Judaism outside Israel, and help Jews worldwide feel that their styles of Jewish expression can find a home in Israel."

Ami-Unity is a comprehensive strategy to encourage Israelis to explore the rich tapestry of Jewish life worldwide and stimulate them assume responsibility for ensuring that Israel is the national home for all Jews. Aimed at Israelis aged 7–25, Ami-Unity increases interest in the global Jewish community, exposes them to the diversity of Jewish life, cultivates feelings of being part of a larger Jewish family, instills tolerance and inclusiveness, and stresses the importance of religious pluralism. Ami-Unity is an umbrella partnership that aims to achieve long-term systemic change. To maximize impact, Ami-Unity builds cross-sector partnerships and trains educators in the partner organizations to develop and implement high-quality content to their own audiences. Those partners include bodies that provide formal education (the Ministry of Education's Division of Jewish-Israeli Culture), informal education (the Council of Youth Movements and the Council of Youth Organizations), pre-army education (the Council of Pre-Army Academies) and post-army education (the Student Union and Hillel Israel). In 2018, a total of 250,000 Israeli children, teens and young adults engaged in the resulting curricula.

Mechinot: Post-High School Service Learning programs provide Israeli 18–19-year-olds with a 6-month opportunity for Jewish study, volunteering, skill-building, and personal development in the period between their graduation from high school and their induction to the IDF. The programs introduce participants to the diversity of Israeli society and the Jewish world, and encourage a mix of self-reliance and communal responsibility; they give the high school graduates a framework in which to develop leadership abilities, and increase their chances of acceptance to a more high-level or elite army unit. This preparation can improve their career trajectory for the long-term. Participants live, work, and study together in small groups with inspiring role models. There are four clusters of such programs: (a) Derech Eretz, Alma, and Harel are pre-army mechinot, or preparatory programs, for young people from Israel's outlying regions with few educational or professional opportunities, or from socio-economically depressed neighborhoods. (b) Kol Ami brings together Israeli and Diaspora Jews. The Diaspora participants stay for three months, during which the entire group explores issues of the Jewish people and Israel; the Israelis stay on for another three months of army preparation. (c) Aharai! B'Ir, whose curriculum is similar to that of Derech Eretz, but differs in that it is a day program, based in urban settings, and therefore meets the needs of those Israeli high school graduates whose families are so poor that the young people must stay at home to work or care for family members until their army inductions.(d) Post-Army Mechinot helps just-released IDF soldiers transition into civilian life and learn vocational skills.

Aliyah The Jewish Agency still brings thousands of Jews to move to Israel each year. In 2014, The Agency helped a total of nearly 26,500 olim (immigrants) make Aliyah, the highest number in 13 years. They noted significant growth in immigration from Ukraine and France. The Agency continues to support these olim as they integrate into Israeli society. Aliyah of Rescue is the Jewish Agency's Aliyah infrastructure that brings Jews suffering persecution or economic distress to Israel.The services include covert operations to help Jews move out of Middle Eastern and North African countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations.

Pre-Aliyah Services are provided by the Jewish Agency to prospective immigrants around the world. Agency shlichim, or emissaries, give guidance on issues such as education, housing, health and employment opportunities in Israel. For those who do not have an emissary nearby, The Agency provides assistance online and on the phone through its Global Service Center. Additionally, The Agency is responsible for verifying that each potential immigrant is eligible for Aliyah under Israel's Law of Return and, once eligibility is proven, for facilitating the receipt of the Aliyah visa via the local Israeli embassy or consulate.

Absorption Centers around the country offer temporary housing for new immigrants and provide space for Hebrew instruction, preparation for life and employment in Israel, events, activities and cultural presentations. 17 of The Agency's 22 Absorption Centers cater specifically to Ethiopian olim and provide services tailored to the needs of the Ethiopian community. The other five house immigrants from around the world, primarily the FSU, South America, and the Middle East.

Ulpan: Intensive Hebrew language programs for new immigrants include five hours of immersive language instruction, five days a week, for five months. The programs are offered free of charge to all new immigrants. Ulpan instructors are certified by the Ministry of Education.

Centers for Young Adults provide ulpan classes, accommodations and a range of services to ease absorption for olim ages 18–35. These centers include the Ulpan Etzion network for college graduates and young professionals; Beit Brodetzky in Tel Aviv and Ulpan Kinneret in Tiberias, for high school graduates looking for job or army preparation; and Kibbutz Ulpan, combining Hebrew instruction with volunteer work on ten different kibbutzim. It also includes Selah, a program for high school graduates from the Former Soviet Union, and TAKA, which combines ulpan studies with pre-academic preparatory courses for immigrants headed to Israeli colleges who wish to polish their skills.

Wings encompasses an array of services including practical guidance and personal mentorship for young immigrants who join the IDF as lone soldiers, far from their families

Supporting vulnerable populations in Israel The Jewish Agency also helps vulnerable populations in Israel and around the world.

Youth Futures is a community-based initiative for mentoring at-risk pre-teens and adolescents. Each Youth Futures "mentor" works with 16 at-risk children over the course of three years, teaching skills for academic improvement and social integration. In 2014–15, approximately 350 trained Youth Futures staff members worked with 5,000 children and teens, plus 7,000 of their family members, in 200 schools in 35 communities in Israel. In addition to secular and traditional Jews, Youth Futures serves Arab, Bedouin, Druze, and Ultra-Orthodox communities.

Youth Villages provide safe, cost-effective boarding school settings for 850 young people ages 12 to 18 who have severe emotional, behavioral and family problems. The four Jewish Agency youth villages provide intensive, holistic services and help the youths succeed in and complete high school, and enter the Israeli army with their peers.

Project TEN brings together young Israelis and their Jewish peers from across the globe to work on sustainable projects in developing regions. Participants spend three months working in onsite service projects in vulnerable communities. Project TEN is a service-learning program designed to build participants' Jewish identities while they serve others. In 2022, Project TEN runs volunteer centers in Winneba, Ghana; Oaxaca, Mexico; Gondar, Ethiopia; Kibbutz Harduf, Israel; and Mitzpe Ramon. In 2015 the program involved 200 volunteers around the world.

Young Activism includes programs that train and support young-adult Israeli volunteers, who go on to create their own social entrepreneurship projects, thus widening the circles of influence.[73] The Young Activism programs include (a) support for Young Communities, groups of idealistic young Israelis who commit to settling long-term in Israel's high-need areas and creating programs that increase local quality of life. (b) Choosing Tomorrow, which encourages university students in Israel's outlying areas to create young communities and settle long-term in the region (c) Ketzev, which provides extra training and mentoring to some of the young communities to help them build self-sustaining "social entrepreneurship" businesses, that provide cultural or educational benefits to customers. (d) Click, which provides microgrants to individual volunteers or very small groups, to help them launch small-scale local projects. (e) The Young Adults' Hub in Arad, where dozens of Israelis and Diaspora Jews receive subsidized housing in exchange for their volunteer activities for the city.

Net@ gives high-performing teenagers an opportunity to rise above their families' socio-economic backgrounds by training them for four years in marketable computer skills, leading to certification as computer and network technicians through Cisco Systems. The program is in addition to the participants' high school course load and also increases their English comprehension skills. In 2014, around 1,100 teens participated in the program, and another 400 children participated in Net@ Junior.

Loan funds assist entrepreneurs and business owners in Israel to open or expand their businesses, through loans with highly attractive conditions as well as comprehensive business guidance. The Jewish Agency acts as a partial guarantor for the loans, to support those businesses that otherwise would have a difficult time qualifying for loans or presenting the necessary collateral for them. The various funds have different eligibility criteria, with some focusing on stimulating the economy in specific regions of Israel, and others focusing on specific populations of business owners, such as Israeli Arabs, Ethiopian-Israelis, immigrants, etc.

The Fund for Victims of Terror provides two forms of financial assistance to those who have been wounded, or had family members killed, in a terrorist attack or war against Israel. It provides immediate assistance in the 24–48 hours after the attack, and it provides subsidies for long-term rehabilitation needs.  In 2014, the fund provided emergency grants to 120 families impacted by Operation Protective Edge, and more than 1 million shekels (around $250,000 according to the exchange rate at the time) to 80 families with long-term effects from Operation Pillar of Defense.

Amigour is a Jewish Agency subsidiary that provides housing for Israel's elderly. In 2014 it operated 57 facilities that housed 7,500 seniors, mainly Holocaust survivors. Additionally, it operates 13,000 public housing apartments that provide government-subsidized housing to 40,000 single-parent families, elderly, and new immigrants.

Services for Israeli Arabs and minorities

(Druze Israeli soldiers of the Herev Battalion, also known as the IDF Minorities Unit)

 As part of its efforts to strengthen Israeli society and to support vulnerable populations in Israel, the Jewish Agency has, for many years, supported or operated programs that encourage co-existence between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, and programs designed specifically to serve Israel's non-Jewish citizens, and they continue to create new ones. Some of the programs:

Youth Futures, the mentorship program for middle-school students,  is active in 36 locations around Israel. Some localities served by Youth Futures are Jewish, while others are mixed and, in recent years, the Jewish Agency has begun to serve children and families living in completely non-Jewish locales: East Jerusalem (100% Arab participants), Tel Aviv-Yafo (32% of participants are Arab), Acco and Matte Asher (34%), Lod (57% Arab/Bedouin), Horfeish (100% Druze), and El Kassum (100% Bedouin).

Choosing Tomorrow, one of The Agency's "Young Activism" social entrepreneurship training programs, includes three groups of Arab university and college students (total 40 students) who are being trained to create their own social-welfare programs that will specifically benefit their local (Arab) communities. These groups are in Be'er Sheva, the Jezre'el Valley, and a group at the Alkassemy Arab College. Additionally, Choosing Tomorrow groups in the Negev work to improve medical services to the Bedouin population, by teaching Arabic to local doctors and helping them understand and connect with Bedouin culture.

Net@ is a program supported by the Jewish Agency. In its chapters in Ramle, Nazareth, Acre, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv-Yafo, Jewish and Arab teenagers study computers together, volunteer in community computer labs together, and serve as mentors together to junior-high school participants. In addition, Net@ has all-Arab chapters in Umm Al Fahm, Yirka, and Tira. 25% of all counselors in Net@ are Israeli Arab.

Acharai Pre-Army Academy (Mechinah) includes a mixed Jewish-Druze group and a mixed Jewish-Christian group in which soon-to-be-enlisted young Israelis of both religions work together to volunteer, promote co-existence, and prepare for their IDF service.

Atidim is a national Israeli program provides scholarships and educational activities to gifted students, funded in part by the Jewish Agency. Most programs serve both Jewish and non-Jewish students, and there are some programs dedicated specifically to the Arab sector. All told, in 2014 Atidim programs included more than 2,340 non-Jewish participants, including Druze, Bedouin, Arabs and other non-Jewish Israelis. Additionally the alumni association includes hundreds of Arab, Druze, and Bedouin graduates.

Jewish Agency scholarship funds benefit Arab recipients as well as Jewish ones.

Jewish Agency loan funds often help Israeli-Arab small business owners to receive bank loans at favorable rates. The nine different funds act as guarantors. One of the funds specifically aims to assist small business owners who are Arab, ultra-Orthodox, female, Ethiopian, or immigrants.

Emergency projects During times of military crisis, the Jewish Agency for Israel provides a comprehensive range of services that, for the sake of efficiency and to avoid duplicating resources, are coordinated fully with the Government of Israel and other major organizations. Among them are:

Respite camping for children in the line of fire: For example, During the 2006 Lebanon War, the Jewish Agency moved 50,000 children from northern Israel to 50 residential camps out of the rocket range. 12,000 children went to Jewish Agency-equipped camp-style day care held in community centers. During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict (Operation Protective Edge) the Jewish Agency arranged for children from Israeli areas in the line of fire to enjoy "days of respite" for fun activities in regions less likely to experience air raids. According to the organization's Annual Report for 2014–15, they provided 73,500 such experiences.

Special services for lone soldiers on the front: During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, the Jewish Agency provided mental health intervention and financial support to 340 "lone soldiers," IDF soldiers from overseas who do not have close family members living in Israel.

Trauma therapy and other extra support for residents of absorption centers: During the 2006 Lebanon War, after a number of absorption centers were hit by rockets, the Jewish Agency moved 2,100 new immigrants to safety and distributed 2,700 bomb shelter kits. During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, they provided 2,000 hours of therapy for new immigrants.

Special loan funds for small businesses in affected areas, to prevent them from going out of business and to boost the local economy during times of distress. For example, during the 2006 Lebanon War, the Jewish Agency established a micro-business loan fund in the north.

Fund for the Victims of Terror: During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, for example, the Jewish Agency gave 120 grants from the Fund for the Victims of Terror to Israeli families who had suffered death or major physical injury.

Scholarships for university students in affected areas: In the aftermath of the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, for example, the Jewish Agency distributed 1,300 scholarships in March 2015 to students who live 0–4 kilometres (0.0–2.5 mi), or study 0–40 kilometres (0–25 mi), from the Gaza border.

Sderot

(Bomb shelter in Sderot, Israel)

The Jewish Agency has played an important role in supporting the residents of Sderot and the surrounding area, which has been the target of many rockets launched from Gaza.  More than 12,000 children have enjoyed respite activities in the center and north of the country (during Operation Protective Edge); 300 educators have been trained to work with children living through trauma (during Operation Cast Lead); supplemental educational activities have been offered to more than 2,000 students; the S.O.S. Emergency Fund for Victims of Terror helped more than 200 people whose lives were directly affected by the Kassam attacks; 100 bomb shelters were renovated in the region during Cast Lead and 500 during Operation Protective Edge; and 500 students received scholarships (during Cast Lead) to study at Sapir College in Sderot, with more scheduled to receive scholarships as of the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge.

Israel Fires Emergency Fund In November 2016, Israel experienced eight days of devastating fires. At least 75,000 people were evacuated from their residences, as 1,773 blazes razed over 600 homes and damaged hundreds more. The Government of Israel determined that while most were caused by weather conditions and negligence, many had been acts of terror. Within days, the Jewish Agency created the Israel Fires Emergency Fund, modeled on the Fund for Victims of Terror. Generous contributions from partners, the Jewish Federations of North America—led by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and CJP-Greater Boston's Jewish Federation—as well as Keren Hayesod and other donors, allowed the Jewish Agency to issue grants of $1,000 per household to victims right away. These funds provided immediate support as families faced urgent needs of food, shelter and clothing. By the end of December 2016, the Jewish Agency had delivered 618 grants across the country, with 29 additional grants in the first months of 2017.

Note: The History of the Jewish Agency For Israel has been removed, but can be found at the link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Agency_for_Israel