American Jewish League for Israel (AJLI)

American Jewish League for Israel (AJLI) (New York) (1957- )

The American Jewish League for Israel (AJLI), headquartered in New York City, was formed in 1957 in New York State in reaction to what was perceived as an undemocratic and partisan approach to Zionism in the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), in which AJLI Zionists had formerly been members. In 1955, long-time Zionist leader Louis Lipsky had conceived "the idea of an organization to offer support to Israel but have no part in politics." 1 By the time the ZOA held its annual convention in Miami in 1957, there were enough supporters around this non-partisan point of view that a splinter group had formed. The splinter group incorporated in New York State as a non-profit organization under the name Independent Zionists of America (IZA) on February 7, 1957, and the certificate was filed on February 11 th . 2 The Independent Zionists of America (IZA), held its founding assembly on May 18-19, 1957, just days before the May 21st ZOA convention in Florida. At that assembly, IZA voted to change its name to the American Jewish League for Israel. One of the reasons for the name change was the greater appeal of the word "Israel" than the word "Zionist" to American Jewish youth. 3

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