IEC Lexicon

Welcome to The Lexicon. This resource is designed to clarify the vocabulary around Israel on campus. Like all subjects, Israel is complex and understanding the language in the context of campus is a key step toward meaningful, authentic conversation.

Entries include definitions and commentary, which is in italics. Each entry includes cross-references listed as "See: X, Y, Z." Beneath the cross-reference you'll find citations. Within each section of The Lexicon, entries are listed alphabetically and the entire database is searchable.

The Lexicon will always be a work in progress as we add entries and fine-tune the ones already here. We want it to be useful to you, so please be an active participant! If an entry is unclear, if you have questions about the way a term was presented, or if something is missing and you think it should be here-- contact us iec@juf.org


AJC is a global Jewish advocacy organization, that works with government officials, diplomats, and other world leaders. Through these relationships and their international presence, AJC is able to impact opinion and policy on the issues that matter most: combating rising antisemitism and extremism, defending Israel's place in the world, and safeguarding the rights and freedoms of all people.
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The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a bipartisan pro-Israel lobby committed to maintaining a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. AIPAC activists are encouraged to build relationships with members of Congress and urge their support of Israel through foreign aid, government collaboration, and bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people.

AIPAC offers multiple leadership development programs for students, including on-campus internships and conferences.

Founded in 1914, the JDC works in Israel and more than 70 other countries to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and manmade disasters.

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Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization focused on human rights founded in London in 1961. Amnesty conducts research and promotes action to end human rights abuses around the world.  

There is a concern on campuses that Amnesty focuses disproportionate attention on Israel, in some ways following suit with the United Nations’ excessive focus on Israel at the exclusion of other countries.

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The ADL works to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. The organization was established in 1913 to fight discrimination and racism through education, legislation, and advocacy.

ADL serves as a resource on bias and antisemitism for the campus community, providing trainings, speakers, resource materials, and advice to students, administrators, Hillel professionals, and others.

Birthright Israel offers a ten day all-expense-paid trip to Israel for Jewish people between the ages of 18-26. Supported by the State of Israel, the Jewish Federation system, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and individual donors, Birthright aims to strengthen Jewish identity worldwide by connecting Jewish people with the people and land of Israel.

Birthright recruitment events on campus are often targeted as a tactic in delegitimizing the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.

Christians United for Israel is an American Evangelical Christian organization that garners support for Israel in "matters related to Biblical issues." CUFI has local and state branches that hold events and engage with public officials. The organization's CUFI on Campus initiative builds student leaders into advocates for Israel. CUFI is the largest pro-Israel organization in America, with over 3 million members nationwide.

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Hillel is the primary organization for Jewish student life at universities. Founded in 1923, Hillel has served as a an on campus community for Jewish students from all walks of life. Serving students at 550 locations around world, Hillel holds Israel at the heart of their work. Hillel welcomes, partners with, and aids the efforts of organizations, groups, and speakers from diverse perspectives in support of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Hillel is the number one convener of positive Israel related educational programming and work to prevent BDS and limit its damaging effect on campus.

IfNotNow is a group led by young American Jews whose stated mission is to "end the American Jewish community's support for the occupation." IfNotNow does not take a stance on Zionism, the BDS Movement, or a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group has 17 chapters across North America.

In June 2018, IfNotNow launched “Not Just A Free Trip,” a campaign aimed at changing the educational model of Birthright trips. In addition to handing out leaflets to Birthright participants at airports and protesting Birthright events, a few IfNotNow members have walked off Birthright trips as a form of protest.

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Israel Action Network is a strategic initiative of The Jewish Federations of North America, in partnership with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, created to counter assaults on Israel's legitimacy. IAN  educates and mobilizes the organized North American Jewish community to develop strategic approaches to countering these assaults and develop innovative efforts to change the conversation about Israel and advocate for a negotiated two-state solution

ICC works to unite pro-Israel organizations that operate on campuses across the United States by coordinating strategies, sharing in-depth research, and increasing collaboration.

IsrAID is an Israeli non-profit, non-governmental humanitarian organization that implements international development programs and provides disaster relief, including international search and rescue assistance.

Many student organizations fundraise for IsrAID, which has been among the first to respond to international disasters such as earthquakes in Nepal and Italy, Hurricane Katrina, and the European refugee crisis.

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The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI or "The Agency") was founded in 1929 "to secure a vibrant Jewish future." Prior to 1948, JAFI acted as the unofficial government of the Jews living in pre-State Israel. More recently, JAFI works to connect the Jewish diaspora and Israel. Their primary functions include assisting with and coordinating Aliyah, rescuing Jews from dangerous environments around the world, and connecting Jewish communities with Israeli communities through the Partenership2gether Peoplehood Platform. 

JAFI supports programs for students including Birthright Israel, Masa, and Hillel's Israel Fellows.

The Jewish Community Relations Council, JCRC, is the umbrella body for more than 40 major Jewish organizations in the Chicago area, and the community relations arm of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago. The JCRC works on issues of concern to the Jewish community, including Israel, international affairs, interfaith and intergroup relations, antisemitism, anti-Israel activity, community violence reduction and immigration.
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The Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF) impacts every aspect of local and global Jewish life in Illinois and around the world, providing human services for Jews and others in need, creating Jewish experiences, and strengthening Jewish community connections.

With more than a decade of experience working on campus and in the community, the Israel Education Center (IEC) is a pillar of JUF's multi-pronged approach to Israel education. IEC casts a wide net for engagement with Israel and is pluralistic in its approach. IEC staff supports students' grassroots initiatives while providing them with the knowledge and support that empowers them as advocates and gives them the tools to become leaders.

In addition to all of the work that JUF does, they are also the primary funder of Hillel in the state of Illinois. Of the entire budget of JUF, 29% goes to Israel and overseas projects, with another 29% going directly to local, Chicago area needs.

The ADL describes Jewish Voice for Peace as the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States. Despite the neutral tone of its name,JVP counts among its objectives an end to U.S. aid for Israel and the success of boycott and divestment campaigns against Israel. JVP has become a leader in the American anti-Israel movement and has assumed a particularly visible role in the BDS campaign against Israel. JVP's local chapters actively support divestment initiatives on college campuses and have helped anti-Israel student groups pressure their universities to divest from corporations that profit from the "Israeli occupation."

Campus JVP chapters work with Students for Justice in Palestine to advance BDS campaigns, and to spread negative images of Israel and its supposed treatment of the Palestinians. JVP supports BDS and utilizes strident tactics such as die ins, mock checkpoints, mock eviction notices and apartheid walls to further their cause. JVP is a small, radical group that does not represent the mainstream sentiments of the Jewish community nor do they represent the majority of Jewish student opinions on campus.

JStreet is a political action committee (PAC) whose slogan is "Pro-Israel, pro-peace" that advocates elected officials for "an end to the occupation and a two-state solution."  JStreetU is the campus arm of JStreet and is not a PAC. Campus chapters mobilize support for a two-state solution through programming and engagement.
Masa provides subsidies to participants in dozens of programs, all of which include trips throughout Israel, educational programming about Israel and Zionism, Hebrew study, and engagement with Israelis. Since it was established in 2004, Masa Israel Journey has helped over 110,000 young Jewish adults experience Israel in a wide range of long-term immersive programs that include study abroad, internship, service learning, and Jewish studies programs.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928 that has spread across the Arab world, influencing other Islamist groups such as Hamas and drawing the ire of established leaders in multiple countries. Long banned in Egypt until the January Revolution in 2011, the Brotherhood won popular elections there the following year, only to be removed by the military soon thereafter. Concerns about Islamic extremism, in the form of the Brotherhood and Hamas, are seen as a key element that has contributed to bringing Israel and Egypt closer together in recent years.

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This small, marginal group of ultra-Orthodox Jews opposed the establishment of the State of Israel and continues to oppose its existence. Members align themselves with opponents of Israel, including the Iranian regime, and can be seen demonstrating publicly in Israel and around the world. They believe that humans should not attempt to create a Jewish state and that the state should be created by God. In their view, the problem is not the notion of Jewish people living in the land of Israel, it is that the decision is not one that should be made by man. They believe that Jewish exile is the result of punishment from God and that only God can end that exile when Jewish people are deemed worthy

While their members often are vocal, Neturei Karta represents only a very small minority of Orthodox Jews. Occasionally anti-Israel groups will cite Neturei Karta as being representative of the Jewish community, which is grossly misleading and wildly inaccurate. They are a radical fringe group.

The Palestine Liberation Organization was founded in Cairo in 1964 with the goal of fulfilling the national aspirations of the Palestinian people. Its most notable leader was Yasser Arafat, head of the Fatah group, who was elected Chairman in 1969 and remained in power until his death in 2004. The PLO's Charter explicitly called for the destruction of the State of Israel and served as justification for a slew of terrorist attacks against Israel in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, Israel recognized the PLO as the official representative of the Palestinian people and the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist, removing the call for the destruction of Israel from the PLO charter and renouncing terrorism.  
StandWithUs is an international, non-profit organization founded in 2001 with the mission of educating people about Israel and antisemitism. StandWithUs holds conferences and sponsors fellowships for college students across North America.
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The ADL describes SJP, an organization with over 126 chapters at American universities, as the primary organizer of anti-Israel events on U.S. college campuses and the group most responsible for bringing divestment resolutions to votes in student governments. SJP chapters throughout the U.S. routinely initiate Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns against corporations and individuals that do business with Israel and frequently organize events that accuse Israel of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

Students Supporting Israel (SSI) was established in 2012 at the University of Minnesota as a non-partisan pro-Israel campus movement. Since its inception, SSI has grown to college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. SSI hosts conferences and supports student activities on campus.  
Women of the Wall is an Israeli social advocacy group whose central mission is to attain social and legal recognition of the right of women to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah, collectively and aloud, at the Western Wall

The work of Women of the Wall is considered controversial by the Orthodox religious authorities in Israel, as well as many members of the public. Orthodox Jewish law (Hebrew: Halacha) forbids men and women from praying together, and the role of women in prayer is strictly limited