International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (also referred to as IFCJ or The Fellowship) is a philanthropic organization founded in 1983 by Yechiel Eckstein whose stated mission is to promote understanding and cooperation between Jews and Christians, and provide humanitarian aid for the State of Israel. Since 2019, Yael Eckstein has been serving as The Fellowship's President and CEO. History As the national Co-director of Interreligious Affairs for the Anti-Defamation League in Chicago, Eckstein, an Orthodox rabbi, began to forge partnerships with evangelical Christians. In 1983, he established the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews to promote Jewish-Christian cooperation on projects for improving the safety and security of Jews in Israel and around the world. On September 1, 1991, the organization was renamed the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Per Haaretz, by 2012 the Fellowship collected over $100 million annually in donations for Israel, wherein half of the fund was spent in Israel, supporting soup kitchens, absorption centers, and bomb shelters renovation. At the same period of time, a quarter of the fund's donations were allocated for various Jewish aid programs. In 2003, Eckstein founded the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada; in 2006, La Fraternidad Internacional de Cristianos y Judíos; in 2012, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Australia; and, also in 2012, a new Fellowship affiliate in South Korea. In 2014, Eckstein was awarded the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s prestigious Raoul Wallenberg Award. The ceremony was attended by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and JDC's CEO Alan Gill . James Rudin, a senior inter-religious adviser for the American Jewish Community, described Eckstein as "well-respected within the American Jewish mainstream. Until he came along, evangelicals and Jews were like ships passing in the night." Eckstein died on February 6, 2019. His daughter, Yael Eckstein, succeeded him as president of the Fellowship. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic created more needs for individuals and elderly in Israel, The Fellowship allocated $20 million in emergency funding, on top of its regular programming, under the guidance of Yael Eckstein. In 2022, Yael Eckstein led The Fellowship to establish a $4 million emergency fund for Ukraine. The Fellowship was able to work with partners already on the ground in the former Soviet Union to set up a help hotline and deliver emergency aid to Jewish communities displaced by war. They supplied ongoing basic needs to Ukraine even during the Jewish holiday of Passover. Organizational structure The organization has headquarters in Chicago and Jerusalem. It is supervised by an independent board of directors, Jewish and Christian. Yael Eckstein serves as The Fellowship's President & CEO. Among the organization's key people are Robin Van Etten (COO), Jackie Gotwalt (executive director of IFCJ Canada), Youngmi Kim (CEO in Korea) and Bishop Paul Lanier (Chairman of the Board of Directors). The Organization's main areas of assistance include: Holocaust survivors Poor elderly Orphans, children and families Persecuted and oppressed IDF soldiers and their families Victims of terror and war In