Dor Chadash becoming part of Israeli-American Council

NEW YORK (JTA) – Dor Chadash, a New York-based group for Israelis in America, is becoming part of the Los Angeles-based Israeli-American Council.

Started in 2003, Dor Chadash hosts social, educational and cultural events in New York with an eye toward fostering connections between American Jews and Israelis and solidifying their ties to Israel. The largely volunteer-led group reported a budget of less than $250,00 in 2011, the last year for which data is publicly available. It counts 15,000 people in its network, mostly young professionals ages 25-45.

The IAC, founded in 2007 with the similar mission of building an active Israeli-American community with the aim of strengthening Israel and Jewish identity in America, will assume responsibility for Dor Chadash’s budget and programs.

“These are two separate programs that are very similar to each other,” said Miri Belsky, COO of the IAC. “We’re really trying to provide as diverse content as we can to try and bring in members of the community at large.”

Making Dor Chadash a program of the IAC, which has a staff of about 20 and a much larger budget, will give a boost to Israeli-American programming in New York, Belsky told JTA. The plan is to increase and diversify Dor Chadash programming and hire permanent staffers, she said.

Meara Razon, chairwoman of Dor Chadash, said her organization approved the acquisition in a board vote.

“The opportunity to become a program of a large, well-funded partner, such as the IAC, will allow Dor Chadash to move from a start-up, mostly volunteer-based organization, to a largely professionally-run program with sufficient funding to ensure continued growth,” Razon said in a statement.

IAC also has an office in Miami and, unlike Dor Chadash, focuses on all age groups. Among its key donors, according to Belsky, are Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban and Jewish casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.