 | |
| Founded | 1976[1] |
|---|---|
| Founder | Daniel J. Elazar[1] |
| Type | Public Policy Think Tank |
| Location | |
Key people | Dore Gold (President, 2000 - 2015 & 2016 - present)[3] |
| Website | jcpa.org |
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an Israeli think tank specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy founded in 1976.[4] Describing itself on its website as "The Global Embassy for Israel", it publishes the biennial journal Jewish Political Studies Review alongside other content.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs was established in 1978 by Daniel Elazar as an umbrella organization encompassing the Center for Jewish Community Studies and the Jerusalem Institute for Federal Studies. Elazar personally raised most of the funds for the operation of the organization and the restoration of an historic building on Tel Hai Street in Jerusalem, named in honor of the Milken family.[5] The building, Beit Milken, served as the Embassy of Uruguay from 1957 to 1980, when Uruguay decided to move their embassy to Tel Aviv.[6] In 1989, the 1,200 ton building was moved 16 meters on rails to reach the site it currently occupies.[7]
Dore Gold headed the Jerusalem Center from 2000 to 2015, when he took a leave of absence to become director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[8][9] Gold returned as president of the Jerusalem Center in October 2016.[10] In 2023, Jason Greenblatt joined the JCPA as senior director for Arab–Israel diplomacy.[11]
The JCPA has been described as neo-conservative.[12] It has been headed since 2000 by "Netanyahu confidante" Dore Gold.[13] In 2015 Haaretz identified Sheldon Adelson as "one of the main financers of JCPA in recent years";[13] Adelson was an American billionaire casino magnate, staunch supporter of Jewish settlement of the West Bank.[14]
The Jerusalem Center founded the Institute for Contemporary Affairs (ICA) jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation.[15] The current director of the ICA is Ambassador Alan Baker.[16] Through this outlet, the JCPA publishes Jerusalem Issue Briefs and Jerusalem Viewpoints.[17] They also publish the twice-yearly Strategic Perspectives, special reports presenting studies on Israeli security and diplomacy topics by the Contributing Editors board of the ICA.[18]
In 2008, JCPA founded the Institute for Global Jewish Affairs in response to growing international anti-Semitism. It was directed by Manfred Gerstenfeld until 2021.[19][20]
The institute helps direct the "Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism Project" and its associated monthly publication "Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism," both of which attend to global anti-Semitism.[21]
On March 24, 2014, the Jerusalem Center held a conference entitled "Europe and Israel: A New Paradigm." The conference focused on the complicated relationship between Israel and Europe, including topics such as economics and the BDS movement, security and anti-Semitism. The conference was well attended and received a significant amount of press, including articles in The Times of Israel,[22] The Jerusalem Post,[23] J-Wire,[24] Ynetnews,[25] and CBN News.[26]
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs publishes the Jewish Political Studies Review, a biannual journal that describes itself as "dedicated to the study of Jewish political institutions and behavior, Jewish political thought, and Jewish public affairs".[27]
