Agudath Israel of America

Agudah serves as a leadership and policy umbrella organization for Haredi Jews in the United States, representing the vast majority of members of the yeshiva world, sometimes known by the old label of misnagdim, as well as a large number of Hasidic groups. However, not all Hasidic groups are affiliated with Agudath Israel. For example, the Hasidic group Satmar, which is vehemently anti-Zionist, dislikes Agudah's relatively moderate stance towards the State of Israel. Agudah has ideological connections with both Agudat Israel and with Degel HaTorah (), two Israeli Haredi political parties that have representation in the Knesset (Israel's parliament). In Israel, Degel and Agudah are in a political coalition called United Torah Judaism (UTJ)."list made up of the ultra-Orthodox parties Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah ... United Torah Judaism (UTJ) promotes the interests of the Haredi community ..." {{cite web |title=United Torah Judaism - The Israel Democracy Institute ==History==

The original Agudath Israel movement was established communal, and cultural voice of those Orthodox Jews who were not part of Zionism's Orthodox Jewish Mizrachi party. Rabbi Eliezer Silver, an Eastern European-trained rabbi, established the first office of Agudath Israel in America during the 1930s, organizing its first conference in 1939. Some of the early rabbinic leaders of the organization included Rabbi Mordechai Shlomo Friedman, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman, Rabbi Leo Jung, Rabbi Herbert Goldstein, Rabbi Joshua Bäumel, and Rabbi Joseph B Soloveitchik. After the Holocaust, some prominent rabbis who made their home in America established a moetzes ("supreme council") known as the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and the movement began to grow rapidly, with the rise of the yeshiva-based and Hasidic Orthodox communities. Mike Tress led the expansion of the movement during the early 1940s as its chief lay leader, until his death in 1967. His cousin Rabbi Moshe Sherer then took the reins as president, and the organization flourished further in size and accomplishments. After his passing in May 1998, took over as Executive Vice-President. In 2016, his salary was $220,000. ==Structure==

Agudah's policies and leadership are directed by its Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages), composed primarily of rosh yeshivas (the chief spiritual and scholarly authority in a yeshiva) and Hasidic rebbes (who head Hasidic dynasties and organizations). The Moetzes sets all major policies and guides the organization according to its precepts of ''Da'as torah (), generally translated as Torah knowledge/direction. Rabbi Yaakov Perlow (deceased), who was the Novominsker Rebbe and a member of the Moetzes, was appointed as the Rosh Agudat Yisrael'' ("Head of Agudath Israel"). The executive staff includes Rabbi Yitzchok Ehrman as COO, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel as the Executive Vice President, Rabbi Labish Becker as the Executive Director, Rabbi Naftali Miller as CDO, Rabbi Moshe Danzger as CFO, Rabbi A.D. Motzen as the National Director for State Relations, and Rabbi Abba Cohen as Vice President for Government Affairs. There are close to one hundred Agudah-affiliated synagogues across the United States and Canada. ==Positions==

The Agudah takes positions on many political, religious, and social issues, primarily guided by its Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. It uses these stances to advise its members, advocate for its constituency in the halls of government, and file amicus briefs on behalf of the Haredi Orthodox Jewish community in the United States. Conservative, Reform, and Modern Orthodox Judaism In 1956, for example, the moetzes issued a written ruling forbidding Orthodox rabbis to join with any Reform or Conservative rabbis in rabbinical communal professional organizations that then united the various branches of America's Jews, such as the Synagogue Council of America. This position was not endorsed by the Modern Orthodox. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik of Yeshiva University had initially aligned himself with Agudah, but later established his independent views on these matters and a host of other issues, such as attitudes towards college education and attitudes towards the secular-led Israeli governments. Rabbi Soloveitchik believed it important to nurture the more modern Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). Women In 2015 and 2017, Agudah denounced moves to ordain women. It went even further, declaring Yeshivat Maharat, Open Orthodoxy, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history in having rejected basic tenets of Judaism. Avi Shafran, director of public affairs, wrote: "... women ... assuming positions of public leadership is ... antithetical to the concept of tzniut (modesty)." Agudah forbade ordained Orthodox female clergy from being hired to lead congregations. Dr. Noam Stadlan, a board member of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, wrote: "On this issue, the Agudah is irrelevant to Modern Orthodoxy in the same way Satmar or Neturei Karta views are irrelevant on issues of Zionism." Abortion In 2019, commenting on abortion, Agudath Israel said: "Jewish tradition teaches that a human fetus has status and dignity, and that abortion is prohibited in the vast majority of pregnancies", with certain exceptions in which it is permitted and in others where it is required. The bill included an exemption for private schools. Doctors and public health experts had said the bill was urgently needed to prevent the level of measles outbreak that spread across the region in 2018 (the largest outbreak in three decades in the area) and emphasized that there is overwhelming scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective. Zionism While Agudath was created as a bulwark to fight against Zionism, the Rabbinic leadership of Agudath did permit "with great reluctance" participation in the government after the Israeli state was established in 1948. The reason given was that "the parliament is not an ideological organization; its purpose is to perform the mundane task of running the everyday life of the citizens of the country. It was against our will that this parliament was formed, and it has the power to interfere with inyanei hadas [religious matters] and to prevent the religious community from living a life of Torah. Thus, we were forced to send representatives there to fight for our survival." ==Activities==

Political activity Aside from its national branch in Manhattan, Agudah has active branches in the regions of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Missouri, New England, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Quebec, and Washington, D.C. The regional director of each branch lobbies the judicial and legislative branches of their state and local governments on any issue deemed morally or religiously important to their constituency (for example, abortion, physician-assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, school vouchers/school choice). Agudah's advocacy in New York state is led by Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Director of New York Government Affairs. Agudath Israel's federal activities are coordinated by Rabbi Abba Cohen, the Director and Counsel of the organization's Washington, D.C. office. Agudah was the first Orthodox Jewish group to open an office in Washington, in 1988, and maintains ongoing relations with the White House and executive agencies, as well as with the U.S. Congress, on various domestic and foreign issues. Fingerprinting controversy Official spokesman Rabbi Avi Shafran denied claims by The Jewish Week that Aguda "is opposed to both the mandated reporting and fingerprinting, and background check legislation" then under consideration for teachers of children this was part of the work by Mike Tress. "JEP" (Jewish Education Program) is known for its release hour work, and was identified by Rabbi Yaakov Perlow as "the JEP operation of Zeirei Agudath Israel" in a 1977 interview, in which he spoke about "to take off a seder from yeshiva and go out and speak at a release hour at a public school." Social services Agudah has a number of social service branches that cater to the elderly, poor, or disabled. It has a job training program called COPE, a job placement division, and a housing program. The Agudah is responsible for the founding of other national institutions and projects, including the Beis Yaakov girls' school system, and the national Daf Yomi Commission. ==Communications==

Agudah advocates its positions in several ways: • Publication of an e-newsletter, Weekly Window • Publication of a general-interest monthly magazine, The Jewish Observer, from 1963 (no longer published) • Maintains full-time offices in Washington, DC, and the US west coast, Midwest, and South • Activism by lobbying and submitting amicus briefs • Organizes prominent layperson missions to government agencies • Rabbi Avi Shafran, the official spokesman of Agudah, responds to media articles and statements which concern the Haredi Orthodox community; Shafran also organizes members to do the same • Conveys its positions in the Jewish media, particularly through privately owned weekly Jewish newspapers in English called "Hamodia" and "Yated Neeman" (distinct from the Israeli Hebrew-language newspaper carrying the same name), which convey news and views from the Haredi Orthodox point of view • Publication of articles and press releases on its website ==See also==