The American Zionist Movement has been approved for NGO Special Consultative Status by a vote of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

(Courtesy of AZM) Statement of Deborah Isaac, president of The American Zionist Movement (following announcement of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations, August 3, 2022, below).

“Today is a great day for Zionism. As the American Zionist Movement (AZM) has now achieved NGO Special Consultative Status at the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), AZM has a platform from which to move the discussion of Zionism and support for Israel in the United Nations from a negative to a positive. We are grateful to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the U.N., under the leadership of Ambassador Gilad Erdan, for assisting us in achieving this status. AZM looks forward to working with our friend Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva of Bulgaria, the newly elected president of ECOSOC, who joined a recent educational visit to Israel jointly led by Ambassador Erdan and the AZM.”

The American Zionist Movement (AZM) is comprised of 41 national Jewish Zionist organizations, and works across a broad ideological, political and religious spectrum linking the American Jewish community together in support of Israel, Zionism and the Jewish people. Founded in the 1940s as the American Zionist Council, and known since 1993 as AZM, it is the Zionist Federation in the United States affiliated with the World Zionist Organization (WZO).

August 3, 2022 Statement of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations

An achievement for Israel in the United Nations: Following actions of Israel’s Ambassador Erdan and Israeli Mission, UN officially recognizes American Zionist Movement as advisory organization in the UN.

This week, the American Zionist Movement (AZM) received a special status within the United Nation to be an advisory body to the organization. This status gives the AZM the ability to participate in U.N. events and debates as well as to hold events within the framework of the U.N. The organization was established in 1993 in order to bring the Jewish community in the United States and Zionism closer together and works to promote Zionist values in the U.S. The movement promotes dialogue and cooperation between various Zionist organizations and will now be able to do so under international auspices within the U.N.

This is a significant step which follows the diplomatic actions of Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan and the Permanent Mission of Israel to the U.N., who have worked extensively over the past year to promote the organization’s candidacy, raising the issue in meetings with ambassadors and senior diplomats. Ambassador Erdan and the AZM maintain many collaborations, including taking U.N. Ambassadors to Israel, the production of the Israeli Mission’s Independence Day event with the participation of U.N. Ambassadors and more.

Ambassador Erdan said, “This is an important achievement. AZM is a force multiplier for Israel in the international arena. I fight every day at the U.N. so that Zionism is considered an important and positive movement and I am happy that after the despicable decisions made at the U.N. in the past, the understanding of the importance of the Zionist enterprise is permeating the U.N.

“We have proven that Zionism is no longer a dirty word within the corridors of the U.N. I congratulate the AZM, which is leading an important effort to strengthen the State of Israel, and I am sure that the movement will now be able to further expand and deepen its work.”