American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Frequently Asked Questions

What is the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee?
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc. (JDC), is a non-political humanitarian aid organization headquartered in New York that is the overseas arm of the North American Jewish community. Committed to the rescue of Jews in danger, relief of those in distress, renewal of Jewish community life, and support of Israel in its most urgent social challenges, JDC (also known as “The Joint”) sponsors and develops social and community assistance programs in over 60 countries around the world. In the spirit of tikkun olam, the moral responsibility to repair the world and alleviate suffering, JDC also provides financial support for non-sectarian emergency response and humanitarian relief projects.

When was JDC founded? Why?
JDC was established in 1914 as a distribution channel for funds from American Jews to Palestine.

After uncovering the plight of the Jews in Ottoman-ruled Palestine, whose survival was threatened following the outbreak of World War I, Henry Morgenthau, then U.S. ambassador to Turkey, sent an urgent cable appealing to American Jews for assistance. Having traditionally relied on support from European Jewry, the neighboring Jewish communities were prevented by the war from getting through to Palestine.

Led by New York’s Louis Marshall and Jacob Schiff, a group of American Jewish leaders raised within one month the $50,000 requested by Morgenthau. JDC was formally established shortly thereafter to ensure that the relief funds reached Palestinian Jews and other Jews amidst the hostilities.

JDC regarded itself then as a temporary organization that would cease operations once the relief it provided was no longer required. However, as the 20th century unfolded, the challenges facing the Jewish people and the need for JDC’s assistance only grew.

Where does JDC operate?
Over the course of its 94-year history, JDC has operated in 85 countries around the world. Today, JDC has a presence in 66 countries, from Argentina and Cuba to Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, to Romania, India, and Ethiopia. JDC maintains a focus on social programs in Israel—the only country in which it has been operating continuously since the organization’s founding.

What are JDC’s main priorities today?
JDC’s current priorities are to relieve the suffering of destitute elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union (FSU); to provide critical assistance for Jewish children at risk, primarily in the FSU, Central and Eastern Europe, and Israel; to help the Jews of the FSU rebuild self-sustaining Jewish community life; to bolster Jewish community development and connectedness across Europe; to continue to assist Argentina’s still-impoverished Jewish community to regain its independence; and to help the government and people of Israel meet the social challenges they face—particularly those arising from the ongoing security and economic crises.

• Relief for the world’s poorest Jews. JDC’s most urgent priority is to provide hunger relief, medication, and home care assistance for over 180,000 impoverished Jewish elderly living in the former Soviet Union.
• Bolstering Israel’s most vulnerable citizens. JDC’s ongoing programs are designed to strengthen Israeli society’s capacity to help its weakest members—including children and youth at risk, the elderly, the long-term jobless, vulnerable immigrants, and people with disabilities. JDC has given special priority to helping Israelis affected by the security crisis and its social and economic implications, as well as vulnerable populations living in poverty.
• Nurturing Jewish children at risk. One critical focus is on meeting the basic nutritional and health needs of Jewish children at risk in the FSU and Central and Eastern Europe while helping draw them into Jewish community life.
• Ensuring a Jewish future in the FSU. JDC is helping the region’s Jews reclaim their Jewish heritage and reestablish the self-determining Jewish communal life that got destroyed by more than 70 years of communism. Priority programs include supporting Jewish community centers, Hillels, and intergenerational family retreats.
• European Community Development. The continuing evolution of the European Union has created new opportunities for regional Jewish cooperation and progress toward economic self-sufficiency. JDC-sponsored leadership programs and other programs nurture these new regional and Pan-European alliances to help revitalize and reconnect Europe’s Jewish communities. Additionally, JDC's creation of the Strategic European Loan Fund (SELF)  provides interest-free loans to Jewish communities in Eastern and Central Europe enabling them to develop, renovate, or improve local properties that might generate income for the community.