Agudath Israel of America (; also called the Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel."Agudath Israel of America is a communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel." "Agudath Israel of America is an Orthodox Jewish organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel." Agudah seeks to meet the needs of the Haredi community, advocates"New York City’s health commissioner and Agudath Israel respond to an editorial" for its religious and civil rights, and services its constituents through charitable, educational, and social service projects across North America.

Functions 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.Jonathan Rosenblum, "Reb Elimelech Gavriel (Mike) Tress", in Nora Roberts, Daring to Dream, Feldheim Publishers, 2006. "Even the Satmar Rebbe, a fierce ideological opponent of Agudath Israel, once told Mike's son Mendel: 'If there were nine more people in the world like your father, Moshiach would come.'"

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 ..."

History

European origins and establishment in America

The original Agudath Israel movement was established"four might pillars" - "German Orthodoxy.. the great yeshivoth of Lithuania... the vibrant, predominantly Hasidic Polish Jewry; and a branch in the land of Israel." in Europe in 1912 by some of the most famous Orthodox rabbis of the time, including Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagen (the Chafetz Chaim), Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski of Vilna, the Radziner Rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Elazar Leiner, the Gerrer Rebbe (the Imrei Emes), and the Chortkover Rebbe. It grew during the 1920s and 1930s to be the political,"Agudath Israel... In time it became a political party represented in the Sejm (Polish Parliament)." "... between the wars, none was more effective than the Agudath Israel. ... in the Polish government and was represented in the Sejm (Polish Parliament)." "Agudas Yisroel succeeded in electing deputies to the Polish Sejm." communal, and cultural voice of those Orthodox Jews who were not part of Zionism's Orthodox Jewish Mizrachi party.For more information, see World Agudath Israel

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, Agudath Israel of America operated under the guidance of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, a council of leading Torah sages. The movement subsequently grew rapidly alongside the expansion of yeshiva-based and Hasidic Orthodox communities.

Mike Tress

Mike Tress led the expansion of the movement during the early 1940s as its chief lay leader, until his death in 1967.

Mike Tress played a major role in the organization's relief and rescue activities before, during, and after World War II, including efforts to aid Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe and displaced persons in postwar Europe.

Rabbi Moshe Sherer

His cousin Rabbi Moshe Sherer then took the reins as president,"aided the right wing of Orthodox Judaism by helping build the Agudath Israel of America organization from a small group into an influential force." and the organization flourished further in size and accomplishments.

Rabbi Moshe Sherer helped transform Agudath Israel into a significant advocate for Orthodox Jewish interests before the United States government. In 1961, while serving as the organization's executive vice president, he testified before Congress in support of government assistance for religious schools.

Benny Fishoff

Yechiel Benzion "Benny" Fishoff served for many years as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Agudath Israel of America and later became chairman emeritus.

Benny Fishoff was a close associate of Agudath Israel president Rabbi Moshe Sherer and frequently served as Rabbi Sherer's emissary in sensitive matters worldwide on behalf of Agudath Israel and American Orthodox Jewry.

Rabbi Sherer referred to Benny Fishoff as the “Malach Hashalom” (“Angel of Peace”) for his role in helping resolve disputes and in representing Agudath Israel in sensitive meetings with rabbinic and political leaders.

In 2002, Benny Fishoff received the Rabbi Moshe Sherer Memorial Award at Agudath Israel's 80th Anniversary Dinner. The award recognized individuals who had worked closely with Sherer in building Agudath Israel of America.

Rabbi Shmuel Bloom

After Rabbi Moshe Sherer’s passing in May 1998, he was succeeded by Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, as Executive Vice President.

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel In 2008, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, having served Agudah as general counsel and director of government affairs, took over as Executive Vice-President."Rabbi Chaim David Zwiebel has been the executive vice president of Agudath Israel since 2008. Before that, he worked for 30 years at a law firm." In 2016, his salary was $220,000.

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow

In April 2020, Agudath Israel of America head Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe, 89 years old, died after contracting COVID-19, one month after he urged American Orthodox Jews to follow social distancing and other precautionary guidelines in response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying: "We cannot behave the way we did last week or two weeks ago. We're told that the halakha (Jewish law) is that we must listen to doctors, whether it's about a sick person or Yom Kippur".

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.Avi Shafran, "What Da'at Torah really means", New York Jewish Week. Reprinted at 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 Avi Schnall 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. Other Orthodox New York rabbis offered opposing positions.

Vaccination Also in 2019, Agudath lobbied against a New Jersey bill that would have ended a policy allowing New Jersey parents to not immunize their children—because of religious beliefs, but to still enroll them in school. The bill included an exemption for private schools. In the 2018-2019 school year, religious exemptions in New Jersey had grown to 2.6%. 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" Yated Ne’eman, Parshas Bo, 5770 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." Agudah takes stances on issues affecting the Haredi sector in Israel; in contradistinction to the more stridently anti-Zionist Haredi communal organizations.

Activities Political activity