A profile of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI): its Jerusalem origins, named funders, board leadership, cabinet briefings, and its live campaign for a "Thin Constitution" in Israel.
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) is a Jerusalem-based think tank founded in 2002 by the Jewish Agency for Israel. It researches Jewish demographics, identity, and Israel-Diaspora relations, delivering its findings directly to Israel's cabinet almost every year. Major U.S. donors fund the organization, which reported approximately $5.1 million in 2024 donations.
JPPI is incorporated in Israel under GuideStar Israel organization number 513235887, formally named The Jewish People Policy Institute (Established by the Jewish Agency for Israel) Ltd. (CC). Financial figures in this article derive from GuideStar Israel's public filings, aggregated via Wikidata's JPPI entry.
What is the Jewish People Policy Institute?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) was founded in 2002 by the Jewish Agency for Israel, which historically managed immigration, absorption, and Diaspora relations for the State of Israel. JPPI operated as a Jewish Agency subsidiary until 2013 when it became formally independent. Its mission is to ensure the thriving of the Jewish People through strategic research on global Jewry.
JPPI describes its work as "action oriented." This means its research targets decision-makers rather than academic publication alone. It aims to provide actionable insights for leaders.
How does JPPI organize its work?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) organizes its work around four standing centers of activity, according to its site structure. These include the Center for Jewish-Israeli Identity, the Center for Jewish-Israeli Cohesion, and the Center for Jewish Resilience. The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Information and Consulting Center also operates under JPPI.
The Glazer Center collects and shares Jewish demographic and community data with Israeli government agencies, major Jewish organizations, and philanthropic bodies. This center functions as a public data service rather than solely producing publications. Around these centers, JPPI organizes published output into eleven focus areas, such as Identity and Education, Israel-Diaspora Relations, Geopolitics, Antisemitism, and Democracy.
The content is split by type: research studies, an AI Research stream, survey indices, podcasts, opinion articles, and video. JPPI also maintains a public data center. This center allows browsing of its survey and demographic datasets directly, rather than locking data inside PDF reports.
How does JPPI cover the October 7 war?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) maintains a standing "Swords of Iron" focus area. This section tracks the October 7 war and its aftermath as a live, ongoing story. Coverage remains current and opinionated, nearly two years after the conflict began.
JPPI President Yedidia Stern has written that the Israeli government cannot articulate how the war will end. Senior fellow Gil Troy has argued for accepting short-term war costs to secure long-term peace. Troy has also separately argued that Israel's political leadership should step aside for new leadership. Other entries weigh whether Hamas is "winning," given stalled progress on the Trump administration's 20-point Gaza plan. They also track the debate over a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 failures versus a government-appointed one.
Who leads the Jewish People Policy Institute?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) is led by a board and executive staff. Key leadership roles include board co-chairs and a president and CEO.
| Role | Name | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Board Co-Chair | Dennis Ross | Former U.S. Middle East peace envoy across the Reagan through Obama administrations. Part of JPPI's founding group in 2002 and its first board chairman from 2002 to 2008. Rejoined as co-chair in 2011 after leaving the Obama White House. Currently Counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. |
| Board Co-Chair | Stuart Eizenstat | Career U.S. official across the Johnson, Carter, and Clinton administrations, including Chief Domestic Policy Adviser to Carter and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under Clinton. Now senior counsel at Covington & Burling. |
| President and CEO | Yedidia Stern | Israeli law professor at Bar-Ilan University, Harvard-trained. Selected by JPPI's board search committee in 2020, succeeding founding president Avinoam Bar-Yosef. |
Dennis Ross has held JPPI's top governing seat for approximately 18 of its 24 years of operation. His tenure was interrupted only by a two-year stint in the Obama administration. Yehezkel Dror is credited elsewhere as JPPI's founding president. This was a distinct and more academic role than Ross's founding chairman title, and it does not contradict the record.
Who funds the Jewish People Policy Institute?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) names its funders directly on its own site. This information is available under a page titled Partners and Members of the General Meeting.
| Funder | Represented By |
|---|---|
| Crown Family Philanthropies | Lester Crown, Charles Goodman |
| William Davidson Foundation | N/A |
| Kirsh Family Foundation | Nathan and Frances Kirsh |
| UJA-Federation of New York | Robert Kapito, Jeffrey Schoenfeld |
| Paul E. Singer Foundation | Paul E. Singer |
| Judy and Michael Steinhardt Foundation | N/A |
| Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) | Charles Ratner (Board of Governors Chairman), Natan Sharansky (Executive Chairman), David Silvers (Budget and Finance Chairman), Rani Trainin (Deputy Chairman) |
UJA-Federation of New York's own Form 990 Schedule I filings show grants issued directly to JPPI or through the wider Jewish Federations of North America network. These grants totaled $663,000 from 2018 to 2024, according to InfluenceWatch's compiled citations. This figure comes from the federation's IRS filing, not from JPPI's own disclosures.
How much money does the Jewish People Policy Institute report?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) reports its financial figures through filings with Israel's nonprofit registrar. These figures are not from an IRS filing and do not detail program spending or executive compensation.
| Year | Donations (NIS) | Approx. USD | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 15,156,980 | ~$4.1M | N/A |
| 2024 | 18,775,000 | ~$5.1M | 41 |
What does the Jewish People Policy Institute actually produce?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI)'s core recurring product is its Annual Assessment of the Situation and Dynamics of the Jewish People. This report tracks geopolitics, Jewish cohesion, resilience, identity, demography, and U.S.-Israel relations. It is delivered in person to Israel's sitting government almost every year.
| Year | Israeli Government | Who Presented | Subject Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Netanyahu cabinet | Ross, Eizenstat, president Avinoam Bar-Yosef | Diaspora relations, non-Orthodox and progressive Jewry, the Western Wall arrangement |
| 2019 | Netanyahu cabinet | Ross, Bar-Yosef, senior fellows Dov Maimon and Inbal Hakman | Rising antisemitism, U.S.-Israel relations |
| 2022 | Bennett-Lapid government | Ross, president Yedidia Stern | Jewish identity, antisemitism, Israel-Diaspora cohesion |
| 2025 | Presented to President Herzog | Eizenstat and Ross, co-chairs | Post-October 7 Jewish resilience, antisemitism index, U.S.-Israel relationship |
At the 2018 session, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Dennis Ross and Stuart Eizenstat directly that "we know we have a problem" regarding non-Orthodox and progressive Jews. He stated he was "not writing off liberals and non-Orthodox," as JTA reported the exchange independently of JPPI's press materials. The session ran an hour longer than scheduled.
Beyond the Annual Assessment, JPPI conducts two ongoing polling operations. These are the Voice of the Jewish People Index, which tracks American Jewish opinion, and the JPPI Israeli Society Index, which tracks Israeli Jewish opinion. Recent findings include a September 2025 study alleging anti-Israel media bias across seventeen international outlets covering the June 2025 Israel-Iran conflict. Another September 2025 finding indicated that 92% of American Jews believe Israel's actions in Gaza directly affect their lives.
A February 2025 survey found that seven in ten Israelis support relocating Gaza's Arab population to another country. An October 2025 study examined American Jewish reactions to Charlie Kirk's assassination. These studies demonstrate JPPI's commitment to timely and relevant data collection.
What is JPPI's "Thin Constitution" campaign?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI)'s most visible current initiative is a live constitutional reform campaign. In December 2025, JPPI launched a public push, fronted by president Yedidia Stern, to promote a "Thin Constitution" for Israel. This concept involves a basic, mainly procedural constitution built on cross-partisan consensus rather than a full ideological charter.
President Stern has argued for the case through Israeli broadcast media, including an i24 News interview. He also writes a running series of op-eds linking Israel's political polarization, its judiciary standoff, and its record emigration rate to the absence of a governing consensus document. This campaign exemplifies JPPI acting as an advocacy organization, shaping Israeli political debate in real time, not only publishing findings after the fact.
Where does the Jewish People Policy Institute sit politically?
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI)'s own polling methodology notes describe its Voice of the Jewish People survey panel. The panel is slightly, though not significantly, more conservative than American Jewry as a whole. Specifically, 28% of JPPI's panel identifies as conservative, compared to a 20% conservative benchmark in a comparable 2014 AJC survey. This describes JPPI's polling constituency, not its leadership's political stance.
Primary Sources
This article draws on JPPI's own About page, board page, and partners page. Additional sources include GuideStar Israel data via Wikidata, JTA's 2018 cabinet coverage, and the Jerusalem Post's 2022 cabinet coverage. A 2009 Forward profile of Dennis Ross, the Washington Institute's biography of Ross, and Covington & Burling's biography of Stuart Eizenstat were also consulted. InfluenceWatch's compiled profile of JPPI's funding trail provided further information.