Israeli-American Council

The Israeli Leadership Council (ILC) was founded in 2007 by Israel's Consul General, Ehud Danoch, and a group of Israeli and Israeli-American business leaders, including Adam Milstein and Shoham Nicolet.{{cite news |url=http://www.momentmag.com/new-israeli-americans/|title=The New Israeli Americans|date=January 30, 2017|work=Moment}} The first ILC event was held in July 2007, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with about 80 Israeli-American business leaders, featuring Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Danoch.{{cite web |url=https://israeliamerican.org/national/history-of-iac|title=The History of the IAC|date=25 April 2015|publisher=Israeli-American Council}} The event was organized by Danny Alpert, Adam Milstein, Eli Tene, Steve Erdman, Naty Saidoff, Eli Marmour, and Shoham Nicolet following a meeting between Alpert and Danoch.

The ILC's first board was co-chaired by Alpert and Tene, and included Milstein, Erdman, Marmour, Saidoff, Shawn Evenhaim, Yossi Rabinovitz, and Nissan Pardo. Shoham Nicolet was asked to volunteer to lead the venture as the Founding Executive Director. They set the organization's "three pillars" of engagement: to strengthen future generations of Israeli-Americans, the American Jewish community and the State of Israel.{{cite news |url=http://pjvoice.org/2016/08/22/birthright-alumni-at-israeli-american-councils-national-conference/ |title=Birthright Alumni at Israeli-American Council's National Conference|date=August 22, 2016 |newspaper=Philadelphia Jewish Voice}}

By 2008, ILC began receiving support from Beny Alagem, Leo David and Haim Saban. It held its first major event, "Live for Sderot", a celebrity gala with 1,800 attendees. The two presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, both sent videos expressing their support for the event.

The ILC held its first annual gala dinner in 2009, attended by hundreds of Israeli-Americans.

In 2011, ILC began funding Sifriyat Pijama B-America, a Hebrew language version of PJ Library.{{cite news |url=http://jewishjournal.com/culture/lifestyle/education/97658/sifriyat-pijama-bamerica-brings-hebrew-language-reading-to-israeli-american-preschoolers/|title=Sifriyat Pijama B'America brings Hebrew-language reading to Israeli-American preschoolers|date=November 2011|newspaper=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles}} PJ Library is a nonprofit which sends children's book to Jewish families.{{cite web | title=About PJ Library | website=PJ Library | url=https://pjlibrary.org/about-pj-library | access-date=September 14, 2020}} The program was cancelled in 2016.{{cite web | title=Sifriyat Pijama B'America | website=PJ Library | url=https://pjlibrary.org/books-and-music/sifriyat-pijama-b-america | access-date=September 14, 2020}}

Sagi Balasha became ILC's first CEO in September 2011. ILC Care was launched in November. In April 2012, ILC launched the Celebrate Israel Festival to celebrate Israel's Independence Day.

In 2013, the ILC rebranded as the Israeli-American Council.{{cite news |url=http://jewishjournal.com/news/los_angeles/113955/|title=Israeli Leadership Council changes name|date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles}} Funded by Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, the organization launched an expansion plan to create regional councils across the United States.{{cite news |url=http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/israeli-american-council-announces-major-u-s-expansion-plan/|title=Israeli American Council Announces Major U.S. Expansion Plan|date=September 11, 2013|publisher=e Jewish Philanthropy}} By summer 2014, the IAC had a staff of 60 people, an annual budget of $17.5 million and six regional offices.{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-milstein/the-iacs-third-annual-con_b_12441592.html|title=The IACs Third Annual Conference: Embracing a New Identity, Building a Movement and Changing the Jewish Future|date=October 11, 2016|publisher=HuffPost}}

By 2014, IAC Merkaz and IAC Shishi Israel were established,{{cite news |url=http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2014/9/2/new-program-bonds-israeli-and-american-jews-brooklyn-heights|title=New program bonds Israeli and American Jews in Brooklyn Heights|date=September 2, 2014|newspaper=Daily Brooklyn Eagle}}{{cite web |url=https://israeliamerican.org/programs/iac-merkaz|title=IAC Merkaz|date=14 October 2016|publisher=Israeli-American Council}} as were regional chapters in Boston, Florida, Las Vegas, and New York.{{cite news|url=http://boston.forward.com/articles/183550/israeli-american-council-opens-boston-office/|title=Israeli-American Council Opens Boston Office|date=March 27, 2014|newspaper=Jewish Journal|location=Boston|access-date=June 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040756/http://boston.forward.com/articles/183550/israeli-american-council-opens-boston-office/|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|author=Jacob Kamaras|url=http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/10/22/growing-organization-helps-israeli-americans-find-their-voice|title=Growing organization helps Israeli Americans find their voice|date=October 22, 2014|publisher=JNS.org|access-date=June 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822095849/http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/10/22/growing-organization-helps-israeli-americans-find-their-voice|archive-date=August 22, 2017|url-status=dead}} In October 2014, Adam Milstein became the Chairman of the IAC, and Shoham Nicolet returned as the organization's CEO.{{cite web|url=http://jpupdates.com/2015/09/17/iac-names-businessman-adam-milstein-as-chair-ahead-of-national-conference/|title=IAC names business man Adam Milstein as chair ahead of national conference|date=September 17, 2015|publisher=JP Updates|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123145654/http://jpupdates.com/2015/09/17/iac-names-businessman-adam-milstein-as-chair-ahead-of-national-conference/|archive-date=January 23, 2016}}

IAC has established several regional chapters since 2015.{{cite news |url=http://jewishexponent.com/2016/08/24/israeli-american-council-opens-regional-office-in-philadelphia/|title=Israeli-American Council Opens Regional Office in Philadelphia|date=August 24, 2016|newspaper=The Jewish Exponent |location=Philadelphia}}{{cite news |url=http://www.jewishaz.com/community/israeli-american-council-federation-launch-iac-arizona-council/article_4fcb299e-b0fc-11e6-825b-c3f04dd658b7.html|title=Israeli-American Council, Federation launch IAC Arizona Council|date=November 23, 2016|newspaper=Jewish News of Greater Phoenix}} Those years also saw the launch of IAC Manhigut, IAC Act, and IAC Eitanim.{{cite news |url=http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/iac-eitanim-in-their-own-words/|title=IAC Eitanim: In Their Own Words|date=July 7, 2016|publisher=The Times of Israel}}{{cite web |url=https://www.israeliamerican.org/programs/iac-gvanim|title=IAC Manhigut|date=22 December 2015|publisher=Israeli-American Council}}{{cite web |url=https://israeliamerican.org/act|title=IAC Act|date=22 December 2015|publisher=Israeli-American Council}} By the end of 2018, IAC has 20 regional offices and more than 58 active communities.

Major funders of IAC have included billionaire and pro-Israel philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, who contributed millions to the organization,{{cite book|author1=Arnold Dashefsky|author2=Ira M. Sheskin|title=American Jewish Year Book 2016: The Annual Record of North American Jewish Communities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDAtDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA788|date=20 February 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-46122-9|pages=788–}} and Haim Saban.{{cite news |url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/in-u-s-israelis-claim-a-foothold/ |title=In U.S., Israelis Claim A Foothold |date=May 27, 2015 |newspaper=The Jewish Week |location=New York |first1=Orli |last1=Santo |access-date=2021-10-15}} Republican Adelson and Democrat Saban had appeared together to demonstrate that their efforts for Israel were bipartisan,{{Cite news |first=Anshel |last=Pfeffer |date=November 14, 2014 |title=How kosher is Jewish money? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-how-kosher-is-jewish-money-1.5491319|access-date=2021-04-20|work=Haaretz|language=en}} but from 2015 Saban reduced his support over political differences.{{Cite web |first=Nathan |last=Guttman |date=September 30, 2015 |title=Haim Saban Leaves Pro-Israel Coalition Over Sheldon Adelson's Right-Wing Push |url=https://forward.com/news/israel/321793/haim-saban-dumps-pro-israel-coalition-over-sheldon-adelsons-far-right-wing/ |access-date=2021-04-20|work=The Forward |language=en-US}}

In 2014, IAC began hosting annual national conferences,{{cite news |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/romney-and-lieberman-to-headline-israeli-american-dc-event/2014/11/04/|title=Romney and Lieberman to Headline Israeli-American DC Event|date=November 4, 2014|newspaper=The Jewish Press |location=Brooklyn}} featuring American and Israeli politicians and business leaders. The conference has grown to become one of the largest Israel-related annual events.{{cite web | last=Tibon | first=Amir | title=This powerful Adelson-funded Israel lobby could soon rival AIPAC's influence in Washington - U.S. News | website=Haaretz.com | date=October 31, 2017 | url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-the-adelson-funded-group-that-could-rival-aipacs-influence-in-d-c-1.5461209 | access-date=September 14, 2020}}{{Cite web|first=|date=4 May 2018|title=Israel Lobby: A List|url=https://israelpalestinenews.org/the-israel-lobby-a-list/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-09|website=israelpalestinenews.org}}

The first national conference was held in November in Washington, D.C., and drew over 750 participants and speakers.{{cite web |url=http://jewishjournal.com/news/nation/140219/|title=Israeli-American Council jumps onto national stage with a splash|date=November 2014|newspaper=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles}}{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/2014/11/11/news-opinion/united-states/at-inaugural-conference-of-israeli-american-group-a-sense-of-tentativeness|title=At inaugural conference of Israeli-American group, a sense of tentativeness|date=November 2014|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/billionaires-adelson-and-saban-at-odds-in-campaigns-unite-on-israel-and-hit-obama/2014/11/09/92a40f68-6835-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html|title=Billionaires Adelson and Saban, at odds in campaigns, unite on Israel and hit Obama|date=November 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post}} During an on-stage discussion about the Palestinian issue between IAC's two megadonors, Saban and Adelson, the former insisted on the two-state solution to keep Israel both Democratic and Jewish. Adelson, in response, quipped "Israel isn't going to be a democratic state – so what?" A year, it was reported that Saban has ended his involvement in IAC, allegedly over political differences.

In 2017, the conference was held in Washington, D.C. Among the speakers were U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, Israel's UN Representative Danny Danon, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, and Member of Knesset Merav Michaeli.

The fifth IAC National Conference in 2018 was held in Florida with over 3,100 attendees. Speakers included Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the Israeli Knesset Yuli Edelstein, Israel's Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, and Israeli-American businessmen such as Marius Nacht and Maya Prosor.{{cn|date=September 2020}}

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke at IAC's sixth national conference in December 2019. He claimed that some Jews "don't love Israel enough" and, addressing the audience of 4,000 Jews: "You're not going to vote for the wealth tax. Let's take 100 percent of your wealth away. No, no. Even if you don't like me – and some of you don't, some of you I don't like at all actually – and you're going to be my biggest supporters because you'll be out of business in about 15 minutes."{{cite web | last=Ziri | first=Danielle | title=Trump: Some U.S. Jews 'don't love Israel enough' - U.S. News | website=Haaretz.com | date=December 8, 2019 | url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-trump-set-to-speak-before-thousands-of-jews-israelis-at-adelson-backed-conference-1.8229882 | access-date=September 14, 2020}} While the audience cheered, some commentators claimed Trump's remarks were antisemitic.{{cite news | last=Rubin | first=Jennifer | title=Trump's anti-Semitic attacks on American Jews keep coming | newspaper=Washington Post | date=December 9, 2019 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/09/trumps-anti-semitic-attacks-american-jews-keep-coming/ | access-date=September 14, 2020}}

The Israeli-American Coalition for Action (IAC for Action, formerly the Israeli-American Nexus{{cite web |url=https://www.israeliamerican.org/blog/introducing-iac-action|title=Introducing "IAC for Action"|date=13 August 2016|publisher=IAC for Action}}), founded in 2016, is the lobbying arm of IAC. Its focus issues include supporting economic collaboration between the United States and Israel, lobbying for anti-BDS laws to force government contractors to promise not to boycott Israel,{{cite web |url=https://www.momentmag.com/getting-political-third-israeli-american-council-conference/|title=Getting Political: The Third Israeli-American Council Conference|date=October 2016|work=Moment}}{{cite web |url=https://iacforaction.org/about/|title=About IAC for Action|date=21 August 2016|publisher=IAC for Action}} and Iran which Israel sees as a threat.

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