“Friends” with Benefits? “Friends of” Organizations and the Question of Growing American Jewish Influence in Israel

Historically, the impact of American Jewish philanthropic support for Israel has been significant and far reaching. Yet American Jews have, by and large, not attempted to leverage their philanthropy for the purposes of advancing their own agendas in Israel. Since the 1990s, however, there have been substantial changes in how American Jews give to Israel. Total inflation-adjusted peacetime giving is higher than at any point in Israel’s history, but the traditional channels that dominated the field for decades—Jewish federations and the Jewish Agency—have been overtaken collectively by over eight hundred smaller ‘friends of’ and umbrella organizations. This article assesses the degree to which the American Jews running these organizations use their money as a means to push for agendas not necessarily prioritized in the same way by the Israelis to whom they are donating. Through case studies of ten Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their relationships with their associated American fundraising vehicles, this article elucidates the range of interaction patterns, exploring issues such as trust, collaboration, and the extent of involvement by Americans. Most importantly, it introduces a typology for studying the broader field of thousands of Israeli NGOs that depend on diaspora Jews for financial support.