The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an American Jewish non-profit organization that deals with community relations. It is a coordinating round table organization of 14 other national Jewish organizations (the "National Member Agencies") as well as 127 local Jewish federations and community relations councils. The JCPA describes itself as "the representative voice of the organized American Jewish community."
The JCPA was established as the National Community Relations Advisory Council in 1944 by the Council of Jewish Federations, which later became part of the United Jewish Communities, now the Jewish Federations of North America. In the 1960s, it was renamed the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC). The group adopted its current name in 1997. Dr. Conrad Giles of Detroit has served as chair since February 2010. Rabbi Steve Gutow has served as executive director since August 2005. The immediate past chair is Andrea Weinstein of Dallas.
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The JCPA works on shaping consensus on public issues, developing strategic responses, and working with the media, elected officials, coalition partners, and others through public relations, advocacy, and lobbying. International issues that the JCPA is concerned with include Israel-United States relations, global antisemitism, the United Nations, the well-being of Jews in endangered areas, and human rights. Domestic issues that the JCPA is concerned with include include anti-Semitism, social justice, poverty, education, public health, and individual rights, and religious liberties including the preservation of the separation of church and state. The JCPA is also actively involved in environmentalism and climate change issues though its program the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), an affiliate of the National Religious Partnership on the Environment.
Each year the JCPA has an annual conference known as the Plenum, the highest policy-developing body of the organization. At the Plenum the JCPA hosts speakers and debates and adopts resolutions expressing the consensus policies of member organizations and the organized American Jewish community. These policies become part of the "JCPA Policy Compendium," which includes positions on a range of issues.
The JCPA has three main task forces:
In September 2007, the JCPA launched an anti-poverty program "There shall be no needy among you." [1] The effort seeks to raise awareness and action to combat hunger, homelessness and other vestiges of poverty in America. JCPA director Gutow led a national 'food stamp challenge' in which he and others consumed for a week no more food than could be purchased with $21, the total amount received by the average food stamp recipient. [2]
The JCPA also jointly manages, in partnership with The Jewish Federations of North America the Israel Action Network.
The JCPA is a partner in the Campaign for Children's Health Care, a campaign to raise awareness about the problem of uninsured children in America.
The 14 National Member Agencies of the JCPA are: