World Jewish Congress

World Jewish Congress

Formation	August 1936; 87 years ago (1936-08)
Type	501(c)(3) organization
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Region served	Worldwide
President	Ronald S. Lauder
Key people	David de Rothschild, Chairman of the Governing Board; Charlotte Knobloch, Vice President; Chella Safra, Treasurer
Main organ	Plenary Assembly
Website	www.worldjewishcongress.org

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement,^[1] the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as "the diplomatic arm of the Jewish people". Membership in the WJC is open to all representative Jewish groups or communities, irrespective of the social, political or economic ideology of the community's host country. The World Jewish Congress headquarters are in New York City, and the organization maintains international offices in Brussels, Belgium; Jerusalem; Paris, France; Moscow, Russia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Geneva, Switzerland. The WJC has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.