Jonathan Jacoby (born October 21, 1953) is an American social activist, known for his contributions in the fields of advocacy for Israeli-Palestinian peace, combatting

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, Jewish communal life, and

rare disease A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, the term orphan disease describes a rare disease whose rarity results in little or no funding or research for treatments, without financi ...

research.

Early life and education

Jonathan Jacoby was born in Los Angeles in 1953 to parents who had survived the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. His mother (Erika Jacoby) had survived

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and his father (Emil Jacoby) was active in rescue operations for his fellow Jews in Hungary. Jacoby earned a Bachelor of Arts in history of religion from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

in 1976. Subsequently, he obtained a Master of Education degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1977. Continuing his academic journey, he received a Bachelor of Literature in Judaic Studies from the

University of Judaism A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, Los Angeles, in 1978.

Career

Work for Israeli-Palestinian peace and against antisemitism

Jacoby has played key roles in the establishment and leadership of several advocacy and policy organizations and initiatives. He was the first Executive Director of the

New Israel Fund The New Israel Fund (NIF; ; ) is a United States–based NGO established in 1979. It describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis. The New Israel Fund says it has provided $300 million to over 900 Israeli civil society ...

(1982–1988). During his tenure, NIF emerged as a prominent advocate for social justice and equality in Israel. Jacoby was a co-founder and Executive Director of the Israel Policy Forum (IPF), which he helped establish as a nonpartisan think tank focused on advocating sustainable solutions for the Arab-Israeli conflict. A longtime peace activist and Jewish community leader, Jacoby also served as President of

Americans for Peace Now Americans for Peace Now (APN) is a left-wing nonprofit organization based in the United States whose stated aim is to help achieve a comprehensive political resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Founded in 1981 as the sister organiza ...

(1989 to 1992) and Senior Vice President of Programs for Jewish Life at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles (2010 to 2013). In October 1991, Jacoby was a guest on an episode of the

Charlie Rose Show ''Charlie Rose'' (also known as ''The Charlie Rose Show'') is an American television interview and talk show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show was syndicated on PBS from 1991 until 2017 and is owne ...

, dealing with the

Madrid Conference of 1991 The Madrid Conference of 1991 was a peace conference, held from 30 October to 1 November 1991 in Madrid, hosted by Spain and co-sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was an attempt by the international community to revive the ...

, an attempt by the international community to revive the

Israeli–Palestinian peace process Intermittent discussions are held by various parties and proposals put forward in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through a peace process. Since the 1970s, there has been a parallel effort made to find terms upon which ...

through negotiations, which was due to convene the following day. The participants discussed the prospects for peace and the obstacles facing the peace-makers. In 2019, Jacoby founded the Nexus Task Force, which developed the Nexus Document, a new definition of antisemitism as it relates to Israel, the first of its kind since the creation of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released by the

Biden Administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

in May 2023, "welcomes and appreciates the Nexus Document". In his role as Director, Jacoby leads a group that addresses Israel and antisemitism-related issues, emphasizing responsible discourse and preventing the political abuse of antisemitism. In January 2024, Jacoby became the National Director of the newly-formed Nexus Project, which was created to promote the principles in the Nexus Document among Jewish community leaders and US policymakers. In March 2024, reporting on the controversy caused by

Jonathan Glazer Jonathan Glazer (born 26 March 1965) is an English filmmaker. He began his career in theatre before transitioning into film, directing the features '' Sexy Beast'' (2000), ''Birth'' (2004), '' Under the Skin'' (2013), and '' The Zone of Inter ...

's acceptance speech at the

96th Academy Awards The 96th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

, on receiving the

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

for ''

The Zone of Interest Zone of Interest or The Zone of Interest can refer to: * Zone of Interest (Auschwitz), an area surrounding Auschwitz concentration camp * ''The Zone of Interest'' (novel), a 2014 novel by Martin Amis, named after the above * ''The Zone of Intere ...

'', the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

interviewed Jacoby, in his capacity as Director of the Nexus Task Force, asking for his views on Glazer's speech and on the hostile response the speech had received from a number of individuals and organizations. The interview was broadcast on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. Jacoby is frequently consulted by journalists writing about the relationship between criticism of Israel's actions and antisemitism.

Work in the field of medical research

Jacoby's involvement in addressing rare diseases led to his co-founding of the Hide & Seek Foundation and the Support of Accelerated Research for Niemann Pick Disease Type C (SOAR-NPC). He was also Chief Operating Officer of CollabRx, Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up, which provided information and consulting services related to rare diseases (2008–2009). Through these initiatives, he has helped facilitate collaboration and funding for research in the field.

Awards

* 2016: RARE Champions of Hope – Collaborations in Science and Technology Award from

Global Genes Global Genes is a global non-profit advocacy organization for individuals and families fighting rare and genetic diseases. The organization is associated with a blue denim "Genes Ribbon" that is intended to raise awareness of patients affected by r ...

* 2018: Career Achievement Award from the Jewish Communal Professionals of Southern California * 2023: Persevere Award from the National Niemann Pick Disease Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacoby, Jonathan 1953 births Living people Jewish American community activists American community activists American Jewish University alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Activists against antisemitism Activists from Los Angeles Jews from California American anti-war activists Jewish anti-war activists