Jewish outreach to the Indian diaspora in the United States | The Jewish People Policy Institute
The rise of the Indian diaspora in the United States In the 1920s, fewer than 10,000 Indians resided in the United States. In 1946, the U.S. Congress passed the Luce-Celler Act, which established an immigration quota of 100 Indian nationals per year. It was sponsored by Clare Booth Luce, a Republic
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The formation of strong political ties between the Jewish and Indian leaderships and communities in the United States
In the last two decades, American Jewish groups have been very active in cultivating strong political links between the Jewish and Indian leaderships in the U.S., and between the Indian, American, and Israeli leaderships. Senior representatives of AIPAC and of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), among others, visit New Delhi on a regular basis and bring frequent delegations of Indian policy makers, think tank members, and journalists to the United States and Israel to discuss issues of common concern. In addition, the AJC has been at the forefront of endeavors to build bridges between Indian Americans and Jewish Americans. It has carried out a series of initiatives on the national and regional levels to expand dialogue and mutual understanding with the Indian community, as it has done in the past with the Latino and African American communities. It has also endeavored to forge business links between Indian Americans and Jews. In addition, AJC sponsored and participated in the interfaith dialogue of Jewish and Hindu leaders, and it coordinated several delegations of Indian Muslim leaders to Israel (more about this later).
American Jewish lobbies as models and partners of Indian lobbies in the United States
As Indian Americans recognized the success of American Jewish organizations in the political and other arenas, they began to look to these organizations as models and partners, and Jewish organizations were happy to respond. American Jewish lobbies have actively supported and contributed to the formation and success of Indian lobbies and have often served as organizational and developmental models. The Congressional India Caucus, now the largest caucus in Congress, the U.S. India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), the first and leading Indian lobbying group in the United States, and the Hindu American Foundation were all founded with the close support and encouragement of AJC and/or AIPAC. USINPAC continues to rely on many of the same methods and tactics used by AIPAC when lobbying Congress – including, for instance, letter writing campaigns and donations to targeted Congressional candidates. The Hindu American Foundation is also looking to ADL and the Simon Wiesenthal Center for guidance in advocacy and lobbying. Emulating the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s work against anti-Semitic hate speech, the Hindu American Foundation released its own report in 2007 about online hatred and bigotry against Hindus.60 It also runs an internship program giving Hindu university students the opportunity to take their first steps as Congressional lobbyists in defense of Hinduism and global Hindu challenges. Other organizations, such as the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) have benefited from AJC and AIPAC support. In addition, the Indian community has emulated Jewish organizations at the grassroots level. India Community Centers, like Jewish Community Centers, offer a large number of educational, cultural, identity-building, and recreational programs to Indian communities.