The World Jewish Congress: Representing the Jewish People

A Parliament for a People Without a State

In 1936, as Nazi Germany tightened its grip on power and antisemitism surged across Europe, Jewish leaders from dozens of countries gathered in Geneva to create something unprecedented: an international organization that would represent the Jewish people as a whole. Not a religious body, not a Zionist organization, not a local community council — but a global representative assembly for an entire people scattered across the world.

The World Jewish Congress was born from urgency. Its founders — led by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, one of America’s most prominent Jewish leaders, and Nahum Goldmann, a brilliant Zionist diplomat — understood that the Jewish people needed a unified voice on the international stage.

The Riegner Telegram

The WJC’s most consequential wartime act came in August 1942. Gerhart Riegner, the WJC’s representative in Geneva, received information from a German industrialist about the Nazi plan for the systematic extermination of European Jewry. Riegner cabled this information to Allied governments in what became known as the “Riegner Telegram.”

The telegram was initially suppressed by the U.S. State Department, which doubted its accuracy. But the WJC persisted, and by late 1942, the Allied governments publicly acknowledged the mass murder of Jews. This acknowledgment, while it did not lead to immediate rescue, was a crucial step in establishing the historical record and building pressure for action.

Throughout the war, the WJC lobbied governments for rescue operations, supported Jewish resistance movements, and worked to maintain contact with trapped Jewish communities.

Post-War Restitution and Memory

After the Holocaust, the WJC became a leading force in the fight for restitution and remembrance. Working with the Claims Conference and national governments, the WJC helped secure compensation agreements with Germany, Austria, and other countries for Holocaust survivors and the heirs of victims.

In the 1990s, the WJC played a central role in the Swiss bank accounts controversy, pressing Swiss banks to account for assets deposited by Holocaust victims and subsequently kept by the banks after the war. The resulting settlement, totaling $1.25 billion, was a landmark in the fight for justice.

The WJC has also been instrumental in promoting Holocaust education worldwide and in pushing for the return of art and property looted by the Nazis.

Structure and Representation

The WJC operates as a federation of Jewish communities and organizations in over 100 countries. It is structured with a governing board, a plenary assembly (which meets periodically), and an executive that manages day-to-day operations. The organization holds consultative status at the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and other international bodies.

This structure allows the WJC to speak on behalf of diverse Jewish communities — from large, well-established communities in the United States and France to small, vulnerable communities in places like Tunisia, India, or Latin America.

Combating Antisemitism

In recent years, the WJC has focused increasingly on combating the global rise of antisemitism. The organization monitors antisemitic incidents worldwide, advocates for legislation against hate crimes, and works with social media companies to address online hatred. It has also promoted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism as a tool for identifying and combating contemporary antisemitism.

The WJC Today

Under recent leadership, the WJC has expanded its interfaith dialogue programs, working with Christian, Muslim, and other religious leaders to build understanding and counter prejudice. The organization also addresses the Israel-diaspora relationship, seeking to maintain bonds between Israeli and diaspora Jewish communities.

For a people that spent most of its history without political sovereignty, the WJC represents something remarkable: a voluntary, democratic institution that gives the Jewish people a collective presence in the halls of international power.