Isaiah Leo Kenen, 1905-1988

Isaiah Leo (Si) Kenen (ILK) was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada on March 7, 1905, the only child of Emanuel Isaac and Rebecca Friedberg Kenen. The family (which includes ILK’s four elder half-sisters), all ardent Zionists, moved to Toronto in 1911. In 1917, at the suggestion of house-guest Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah, ILK helped organize the first Young Judea chapter in Toronto. He went on to earn a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1925 and an L.L.B. from Cleveland Law School in 1940.

ILK began his career in journalism as a contributor to various Toronto newspapers as an undergraduate, and as a reporter for the Toronto Star in 1925-1926. In 1926, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to write for the Cleveland News. While living in Cleveland, ILK was active in the Jewish community as a Sunday school teacher at the Euclid Avenue Temple, 1929-1943; as Chairman of the Cleveland Jewish Welfare Federation Public Relations Committee, 1933-1943; and as president of the Cleveland Zionist District, 1940-1943. ILK was also a founder, in 1933, of the first Cleveland local of the American Newspaper Guild (ANG). He served as chairman of the first, and subsequent five, ANG Constitution Committees; as president of the Cleveland ANG in 1937; and as an international vice president of the ANG, 1938-1940. In addition, ILK was a correspondent for the Cincinnati Inquirer (1930-40), and the Editor (1933-1936) of The City, the newspaper of the Cleveland City Club.

In 1943, ILK's involvement in Zionist affairs became his full-time occupation when he moved to New York to accept the position of information director of the American Zionist Emergency Council. Later in 1943, he began working for the American Jewish Conference as their public relations director. ILK became the Executive Secretary of the American Jewish Conference in 1945, a position he held until 1947. In 1947, ILK became the information director for the Jewish Agency for Palestine delegation at the United Nations. When the State of Israel came into existence in 1948, ILK became the information director and an alternate representative of the first Israel delegation to the United Nations.

In 1951, ILK became the Washington representative and registered lobbyist of the American Zionist Council (AZC), which was headed by Louis Lipsky and had no official connection with the Israel government. The AZC's main mission was to lobby Congress primarily for financial, but also military, aid to Israel. The AZC also lobbied for changes in the Department of State's policies toward Israel. On March 22, 1954, the Washington lobby of the AZC became a separate entity, renamed the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (AZCPA). ILK was Executive Director and a registered lobbyist for AZCPA, which became the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in 1959, until 1974. ILK was Chairman of AIPAC, 1974-1975; and Honorary Chairman, 1975-88. While Executive Director of AIPAC, ILK founded Near East Report, which he edited from 1957 to 1973. In 1973, ILK became president of Near East Research. During his tenure at AIPAC, ILK also drafted statements and speeches on Israel and US policy in the Middle East for many politicians, including: Hubert Humphrey, Harry S. Truman, and John F. Kennedy.

In 1981, ILK's memoir of the Israel lobby on Capitol Hill, Israel's Defense Line, was published by Prometheus Books. All My Causes, a collection of anecdotes of ILK's experiences as a journalist, Zionist, and lobbyist, was published by Near East Research in 1985.

ILK was the recipient of many honors and awards, both for journalism and for service to the Jewish community.

ILK died in Washington, D.C. on March 23, 1988.

For more biographical information see: American Jewish Yearbook, v. 90, 1988, p. 611. Kenen, I.L. All My Causes . Near East Research, 1985. --. Israel's Defense Line . Prometheus Books, 1981. Kenen Papers. Series III. Writings and Speeches: Israel's Defense Line : Publicity, undated, 1981-1982 (Box 22, Folder 261; and Box 30, Folder 280). Kenen Papers. Series IV. Scrapbooks: Personal Publicity, undated, 1925-1975 (Boxes 25-27; Box 23, Folder 272; Box 28, Folder 277; Box 30, Folder 282). Who's Who in American Jewry, 1980, p. 259.

From the guide to the Isaiah Leo Kenen, papers, undated, 1919-1985, (American Jewish Historical Society)