Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (abbreviated as CoP) is self described as "a central address for key American, Israeli and other world leaders to consult on issues of critical concern to the Jewish community". It is often referred to as simply the "Presidents' Conference".

Currently comprising 51 national Jewish organizations, the Conference meets relatively infrequently to make major statements or meet with important leaders. The Conference was founded to promote the state of Israel in the U.S., and that remains its most primary task. The Conference does not draft comprehensive policies (which is done by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs), nor does it do conventional lobbying (such as that done by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee).

The Conference was created in response to requests from President Eisenhower and his administration. The American Jewish community of the period was experiencing a large growth in its numerous superficially-similar policy groups (such as the American Jewish Committee and American Jewish Congress and the increasing legitimacy of all the various religious denominations (particularly the Orthodox and Conservative). The Eisenhower Administration wanted an easier method to gauge the opinion of the community, without having to wade into the internal politics of the community, and polling leaders of each organization. The Conference established a unified voice for the community, one that government officials could consult on important matters.