American Jewish Contributions to Israel
The following table lists the total amount of money raised from Americans (mostly Jews) through the campaigns of the United Jewish Appeal (UJA), United Israel Appeal (UIA) and Jewish Federations (organized under the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF) umbrella) and the amount allocated to Israel. These totals include annual campaigns, special fundraising projects and other contributions. It also includes nearly $900 million raised between 1990 and 1997 (primarily 1990-92) in a special campaign for immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. UJA, UIA and CJF merged in 1999 to form the United Jewish Communities (UJC). These figures represent the bulk of American Jewish philanthropy toward Israel, but not all of it. Millions of dollars are given directly to Israel for specific projects and organizations and through "Friends of" groups that help fund hospitals, universities and other Israeli institutions. In recent years, the amount of direct giving has increased. At the same time, as the table indicates, the percentage of money allocated by the umbrella fundraising organization to Israel has declined significantly and now amounts to only a little more than one-third of the total raised. This trend is largely a result of decisions by individual Jewish federations around the country to keep more of the money they raise to fund services and projects in their local communities.
($ in 1000s)
| Total Raised | Total Allocated to Israel | Percentage Sent to Israel | |
| 1948 | $200,700 | $146,926 | 73% |
| 1949 | 161,000 | 101,954 | 63% |
| 1950 | 142,200 | 86,639 | 61% |
| 1951 | 136,000 | 79,311 | 58% |
| 1952 | 121,200 | 66,902 | 55% |
| 1953 | 117,200 | 63,694 | 54% |
| 1954 | 109,300 | 56,753 | 52% |
| 1955 | 110,100 | 56,101 | 51% |
| 1956 | 130,500 | 74,302 | 57% |
| 1957 | 138,100 | 80,119 | 58% |
| 1958 | 123,300 | 64,606 | 52% |
| 1959 | 130,700 | 66,058 | 51% |
| 1960 | 127,700 | 64,661 | 51% |
| 1961 | 126,000 | 64,785 | 51% |
| 1962 | 129,400 | 53,539 | 41% |
| 1963 | 124,700 | 59,799 | 48% |
| 1964 | 126,700 | 58,890 | 46% |
| 1965 | 131,300 | 61,601 | 47% |
| 1966 | 136,500 | 64,257 | 47% |
| 1967 | 301,674 | 236,515 | 78% |
| 1968 | 215,677 | 144,495 | 67% |
| 1969 | 243,336 | 163,754 | 67% |
| 1970 | 275,394 | 191,940 | 70% |
| 1971 | 334,213 | 230,449 | 69% |
| 1972 | 349,649 | 228,497 | 65% |
| 1973 | 362,282 | 236,440 | 65% |
| 1974 | 683,527 | 488,032 | 71% |
| 1975 | 465,631 | 295,416 | 63% |
| 1976 | 448,759 | 259,318 | 58% |
| 1977 | 450,760 | 263,609 | 58% |
| 1978 | 470,590 | 266,588 | 57% |
| 1979 | 474,697 | 265,077 | 56% |
| 1980 | 502,773 | 288,081 | 57% |
| 1981 | 538,164 | 304,766 | 57% |
| 1982 | 558,164 | 322,698 | 58% |
| 1983 | 583,270 | 302,975 | 52% |
| 1984 | 634,738 | 322,496 | 51% |
| 1985 | 656,491 | 345,500 | 53% |
| 1986 | 687,959 | 249,485 | 36% |
| 1987 | 724,725 | 361,583 | 50% |
| 1988 | 738,593 | 352,797 | 48% |
| 1989 | 757,620 | 366,374 | 48% |
| 1990 | 756,281 | 357,391 | 47% |
| 1991 | 738,607 | 327,458 | 44% |
| 1992 | 732,850 | 322,004 | 44% |
| 1993 | 722,363 | 317,593 | 44% |
| 1994 | 726,644 | 299,368 | 41% |
| 1995 | 732,960 | 297,368 | 41% |
| 1996 | 751,723 | 305,044 | 41% |
| 1997 | 760,117 | 287,608 | 38% |
| 1998 | 764,700 | *305,000 | 38% |
| 1999 | 795,500 | *300,000 | 36% |
2000 | 826,300 | 219,800 | 27% |
2001 | 850,300 | 192,600 | 23% |
2002 | 831,1001 | 199,000 | 24% |
2003 | 831,300*2 | 194,500 | 23% |
2004 | 859,500 | 199,700 | 23% |
| Total | $25,661,531 | $11,982,216 | 47% |
*Estimated
1Does not include $329.5 million for the Israel Emergency Campaign
2Does not include $32.9 million for the Israel Emergency Campaign
Source: United Jewish Communities
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