Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) is a $3.7M Jewish advocacy organization funded by Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation ($925K), Ford Foundation, and Soros entities. Operates campaigns across 19+ states through the Collaborative for Jewish Organizing. Opposes the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Spielberg Foundation Investigation Series:
- Part 1: Where Schindler's List Money Went — RPF grantmaking to Jewish progressive organizations (2020-2024)
- Part 2 (MAIN INVESTIGATION): Spielberg's Foundation Funds Jews for Mamdani — The $3M network and Mamdani's mayoral election
- Part 3: Bend the Arc's Money Map — The $50M+ foundation ecosystem beyond Spielberg & Soros
- Part 4: The Other Spielberg Foundation: Hearthland — $26.7M in voter mobilization, media, and racial justice
- Entity Pages: Righteous Persons Foundation | Bend the Arc: Jewish Action | T'ruah | Jews United for Justice (this piece)
- Hub: Global Jewish Philanthropy
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: Washington, D.C. (multi-state operations)
Leadership: Executive team managing multi-state campaigns
Annual Operating Budget: ~$3.7M (2023)
Tax Status: 501(c)(3)
Operating Footprint: 19+ states with active organizing campaigns
Overview
Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) is a Washington, D.C.-based Jewish advocacy organization founded in 2010 to mobilize Jews around racial justice, labor rights, immigrant rights, and Palestinian advocacy. The organization operates exclusively as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and conducts campaigns across 19+ states.
JUFJ frames its work through Jewish values, connecting social justice organizing with Jewish religious and ethical traditions. The organization coordinates campaigns across multiple issue areas, with increasing emphasis on Palestinian solidarity and Israeli occupation critique.
Major Funders (2020-2024)
Righteous Persons Foundation (Steven Spielberg) — $925,000. Annual grants per IRS 990-PF: $150K (2020), $175K (2021), $200K (2022), $200K (2023), $200K (2024). Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 95-4497916), cross-referenced with InfluenceWatch. RPF also funded the Collaborative for Jewish Organizing ($300K over two years in 2024, $300K over two years in 2022, $100K in 2021), which supports JUFJ's multi-state infrastructure.
Ford Foundation — Multiple documented grants for Collaborative for Jewish Organizing (operates across 19+ states)
Foundation to Promote Open Society (Soros entity) — Documented grants
John E. Fetzer Institute — Grants in 2025
Leon and Toby Cooperman Family Foundation — Grants in 2025
Hopewell Fund — Documented support
Total documented funding (2020-2024): $3.7M+
Tax Records (IRS Form 990)
- Jews United for Justice Organization: EIN 27-3433379. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
- 2023 Form 990: Available via ProPublica
- 2022 Form 990: Available via ProPublica
- 2021 Form 990: Available via ProPublica
- 2020 Form 990: Available via ProPublica
Key Personnel
Executive Team — Leadership structure focused on multi-state campaign coordination and Jewish values framing
Board Members: Jewish activists, social justice organizers, and community leaders across multiple states
Rabbi Abby Stein — Network Connection
Rabbi Abby Stein — tenth-generation descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, dual Israeli-American citizen, founding member of Rabbis for Ceasefire — operates within the same progressive Jewish organizational ecosystem as JUFJ, Bend the Arc, T'ruah, and JFREJ. Stein was a prominent figure in the "Jews for Zohran" campaign during the 2025 mayoral election and was appointed to Mamdani's Transition Team. She subsequently continued working with Mayor Mamdani as a consultant on transgender health care policy.
For Rabbi Stein's full profile — including her background, Palestinian rights work, and network significance — see the Bend the Arc: Jewish Action entity page.
Campaign Portfolio
- Labor Organizing: Jewish solidarity with immigrant workers, service workers, and labor movements
- Racial Justice: Campaigns around police reform, criminal justice, and racial equity
- Immigrant Rights: Advocacy for immigrant protections and border policies
- Palestinian Solidarity: Increasingly prominent campaigns around Palestinian rights, occupation, and Israeli military conduct
- Jewish Mobilization: Frames social justice work through Jewish ethical framework
Multi-State Footprint
JUFJ operates organizing campaigns across 19+ states through the Collaborative for Jewish Organizing (CJO). This structure allows for coordinated national campaigns while maintaining local chapter autonomy. Ford Foundation and RPF funding flows through CJO to support this multi-state infrastructure.
Funding Structure
JUFJ derives 98% of its annual revenue from contributions and grants. The organization maintains institutional stability through foundation relationships and recurring major donor support. Individual grants typically range between $16,785 and $180,000.
See also: Bend the Arc's Money Map for detailed breakdown of foundation funding ecosystems.
Related Networks
JUFJ participates in overlapping funder networks with Bend the Arc and T'ruah. The Ford Foundation's Collaborative for Jewish Organizing connects JUFJ to a broader ecosystem of left-of-center Jewish advocacy and organizing.
JUFJ coordinates campaigns alongside other progressive Jewish organizations and participates in broader social justice coalitions across multiple issue areas. Figures like Rabbi Abby Stein, while not JUFJ staff, operate within the same organizational and funder networks — JFREJ, JVP, Bend the Arc — and share overlapping donors, campaign infrastructure, and political objectives, including the coalition that delivered Zohran Mamdani's 2025 mayoral victory.
Related Investigations
Spielberg's Foundation Funds Jews for Mamdani — Documents $925K Spielberg funding to JUFJ as part of broader $3M network
Bend the Arc's Money Map — Comprehensive analysis of $50M+ foundation network funding pro-Palestinian advocacy, including JUFJ's funders
Where Schindler's List Money Went — Initial documentation of Jewish progressive organization funding
The Other Spielberg Foundation: Hearthland — $26.7M in voter mobilization, media, and racial justice amplifying RPF infrastructure
Sources
RPF Grant Data: IRS Form 990-PF (EIN 95-4497916), 2020–2024, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. InfluenceWatch: RPF confirming 990-PF payment data ($150K in 2024, $165K in 2023). RPF Grant Page: Jews United for Justice. Collaborative for Jewish Organizing grants via RPF Grants Archive.
JUFJ Tax Records: IRS Form 990 (EIN 27-3433379), via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Related Entities
Righteous Persons Foundation | Bend the Arc: Jewish Action | T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights | Global Jewish Philanthropy
