Abbreviation | MFF |
---|---|
Formation | 2000 |
Founders | Adam and Gila Milstein |
Type | nonprofit |
95-4824595 | |
Purpose | Jewish, Israel education |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
President | Adam Milstein |
Website | www |
The Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation (MFF) is a Los Angeles, California-based nonprofit foundation which aims to strengthen the State of Israel and its ties to the United States, as well as to strengthen the Jewish identity of American Jews and their connection to Israel.
Israeli-American real estate investor Adam Milstein and his wife Gila established the foundation in 2000.
In 2000, the Milsteins founded MFF, which is based in Los Angeles. [1] Adam Milstein serves as the president of the foundation. [2]
The mission of the foundation is to educate and train students and young professionals to identify with their Jewish roots and to connect with and advocate for the State of Israel. [3] The foundation has three main operating principles: "Active Philanthropy," "Life Path Impact," and "Philanthropic Synergy". "Active Philanthropy" means that the foundation remains actively involved, investing time and resources to ensure the impact and success of the organizations, projects, and programs they support. [4]
The foundation funds and supports dozens of organizations, often in concert with several other philanthropic organizations. [5]
The foundation also offers grants to support students on college campuses. The grants are available to help fund cultural events, coalition-building initiatives, campaigns and social media activism led by students. [6]
In partnership with the American-Israel Educational Foundation (AIEF), [7] the educational wing of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), MFF created the Campus Allies Mission to Israel and the Campus Allies delegation to AIPAC's annual Policy Conference. The initiatives "engage African-American, Christian, and Latino student leaders and educate them to become advocates for Israel." [5] [8] The Campus Allies Mission to Israel is for non-Jewish, Zionist student leaders and activists who have not been to Israel and are ineligible for Birthright Israel. [9]
In December 2015, MFF partnered with the Israeli Video Network to launch an "Inspired by Israel" video contest, with the purpose of showcasing how people are inspired by Israel. [10]
The foundation provided the staff support and funding behind the Talk Israel mobile app, which launched in December 2015 with the goal to "bring the pro-Israel community together." [11]
In July 2017, MFF launched its "Milstein Meme Competition" in an effort to find the "funny side of pro-Israel activism." Adam Milstein said, "This contest is a fun way for us to express our love and support for Israel with wit and levity." [12] [13]
In January 2018, the foundation launched the website Virtually Israel 2.0, which hosts virtual reality tours of popular sites in Israel. Adam Milstein said the videos show "Israel is not a war zone" but "a place of peace and prosperity and happiness and innovation, a place that anybody should go and enjoy." [14]
According to MFF's webpage, the organizations that it supports include: [15]
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. One of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the country, it has been called one of the most powerful lobbying groups.
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a US-based grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the stated aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media. The group's name was inspired by Karl Popper's 1945 book The Open Society and Its Enemies.
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, also known as Hillel International, is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally. Hillel is represented at more than 850 colleges and communities throughout North America and globally, including 30 communities in the former Soviet Union, nine in Israel, and five in South America.
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StandWithUs (SWU) is a nonprofit right-wing pro-Israel advocacy organization founded in Los Angeles in 2001 by Roz Rothstein, Jerry Rothstein, and Esther Renzer.
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Adam Milstein is an Israeli-American investor and philanthropist. He is a managing partner at Hager Pacific Properties.
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