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JAC was founded after the 1980 election when many friends of Israel in the Congress were defeated by organized political groups that opposed Israel and the values of mainstream American Jewry. Concerned Jewish activists reached out to their networks across the country to spread the message that they could support Israel and fight political extremists by becoming meaningfully involved in the political process. In the decades that followed, JAC remained committed to the US-Israel relationship as its core issue, while protecting reproductive rights and separation of religion and state.
JAC is shorthand for the following set of organizations that engage in the political process from a Jewish perspective.
Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs is a bipartisan PAC committed to the special relationship between the US and Israel and a domestic agenda that includes reproductive choice and separation of religion and state. JAC provides financial support for US Senate and House candidates who uphold this agenda; JAC maintains ongoing dialogue with those it helps elect. In addition, JAC serves as a political resource for the Jewish community, furnishing information about candidates, elections and issues.
Joint Action Committee (501c4)is a nonpartisan advocacy group that promotes the United States-Israel relationship, reproductive freedom, separation of religion and state, and social policies in keeping with the core values of the American Jewish community. To promote this agenda, JAC enlists Jewish community participation in advocacy with elected officials; this includes trips to Washington, DC that feature legislative briefings by high-level experts and private meetings with members of Congress.
The JAC Education Foundation, a tax exempt organization (501c3), exists to educate and engage the Jewish community in electoral politics and issues of Jewish concern. The Foundation publishes the nonpartisan Jewish Community Voter Guide, an educational resource that identifies and explains legislative issues of interest to the Jewish community; it contains an index of the voting records of the entire Congress on these issues and suggestions for advocacy. The Foundation conducts voter registration drives and education sessions.
Gail Garber Yammer, President
Barbara Bluhm-Kaul, Immediate Past President
Joan Canel, Treasurer
Debby Greenberg, Vice President Finance
Marcia Balonick, Executive Director
Linda Rae Sher, Founder and Director of Special Projects
Joy Malkus, Research Director
Katherine Gurvey, Communications
Dana Gordon, Membership and Outreach
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