Based on the findings of landmark surveys by AJC’s Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA) on U.S. Latino attitudes towards Jews and U.S. Latino Jews, we conduct effective outreach initiatives that promote stronger collaboration between the two communities.
Political Empowerment
Working closely with Latin American embassies in Washington, D.C., and consulates throughout the country, BILLA and AJC regional offices hold political empowerment workshops for emerging local Latino leaders. By sharing successful Jewish and Latino experiences in the fields of advocacy, philanthropy, coalition-building, and communications, participants gain proven strategic tools they can use to thrive as community leaders.
Diaspora-Homeland Relations
BILLA’s innovative approach recognizes the organic ties between U.S. Latinos and their native or ancestral homelands, which echo the Jewish connection to Israel. Jewish and Latino diaspora leaders travel together to Latin America to experience these historical connections first-hand, promoting a more effective advocacy agenda back home. BILLA delegations have visited the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
Latino-Jewish Leadership Council (LJLC)
AJC convened more than 35 prominent U.S. Jewish and Latino leaders to launch the LJLC, which advocates on issues of common concern and defends values cherished by both communities. LJLC’s board identified three priorities: immigration reform, combating discrimination and bigotry, and foreign policy initiatives linking the U.S., Latin America, and Israel.
Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus
Founded in 2011, this bipartisan group promotes cooperative engagement between Latinos and Jews in the U.S. Congress on domestic and foreign policy issues. The Caucus has weighed in on immigration reform, the search for truth and justice in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Argentina, and global antisemitism.
Latino Jews
U.S. Latino Jews are critical to BILLA’s intergroup and diplomatic work. AJC’s pioneering study showed that members of this group, spanning diverse identities, can act as effective natural bridges between the two communities and among the U.S., Ibero-America, and Israel.
