UNITED JEWISH APPEAL

United Jewish Appeal: translation

(UJA)

A fund-raising campaign organization for the development of the Jewish national home inPalestineand later Israel, as well as for Jewish communities and concerns worldwide. It began to function as a permanent organization in 1938. Renamed the United Jewish Communities-The Federations of North America, the UJA represents and serves 155 Jewish federations and 400 independent Jewish communities across theUnited Statesand Canada. It raises and distributes funds to local charities as well as to Jewish causes internationally and in Israel. UJA Israel is a division of the corporation; it acts as the liaison between Israel and the North American Jewish community, interfacing with the government, theJewish Agencyfor Israel, the Joint Distribution Committee, the business community, the voluntary sector, opinion makers, the media, and the general public. In 2006, regular and emergency campaigns undertaken by United Jewish Communities raised more than $350 million to fund programs to help Israel rebuild after theSecond Lebanon War(2006).