Jewish Community Relations Council New York

JCRC-NY’s Missions to Israel program, which has been on-going for over two decades, has included among its participants over 500 elected and appointed public officials, ethnic and faith leaders, human services agency professionals, business and union leaders and journalists.
The Missions’ itineraries provide participants with first-hand knowledge and experiences of the complex reality of the State of Israel. The participants are able to then convey to other New Yorkers the challenges Israel faces as it seeks to achieve a lasting peace with its neighbors.
The deep relationship between New York State and the State of Israel has a long history. As the American state with the largest Jewish population, there is great interest and concern in New York regarding developments which impact on Israel’s safety, security and viability. In addition, New York’s very diverse population makes Israel central to not only the Jewish faith, but also to Christianity and Islam. Further, there are active commercial ties between New York and Israel in a wide range of industries. Indeed, the green light recently given to the Cornell-Technion Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island highlights the growing academic ties between New York and the State of Israel.