Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America

The Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America (also referred to as the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A., the Jewish War Veterans, or the JWV) is an American Jewish veterans' organization, and the oldest veterans group in the United States. It has an estimated 37,000 members.

History and purpose
The Jewish War Veterans were established in 1896. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.

In the preamble to its National Constitution the purpose of the JWV is stated:
 * To maintain true allegiance to the United States of America; to foster and perpetuate true Americanism; to combat whatever tends to impair the efficiency and permanency of our free institutions; to uphold the fair name of the Jew and fight his or her battles wherever unjustly assailed; to encourage the doctrine of universal liberty, equal rights, and full justice to all men and women; to combat the powers of bigotry and darkness wherever originating and whatever their target; to preserve the spirit of comradeship by mutual helpfulness to comrades and their families; to cooperate with and support existing educational institutions and establish educational institutions, and to foster the education of ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen, and our members in the ideals and principles of Americanism; to instill love of country and flag, and to promote sound minds and bodies in our members and our youth; to preserve the memories and records of patriotic service performed by the men and women of our faith; to honor their memory and shield from neglect the graves of our heroic dead.

The JWV is a member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

Organization
The JWV is organized into, in descending order of rank, a National Convention, a National Executive Committee, departments, district or county councils, and posts. There are also subsidiary organizations, including the Ladies Auxiliary, posts or other echelons created outside the United States, and any other subsidiary organizations established by a two-thirds vote of the National Executive Committee.

The National Convention is the annual assembly of the JWV, in which "supreme power" is vested in. The National Convention usually takes place over a week in a major U.S. city determined by the National Executive Committee. The 117th Annual National Convention in 2012, for example, was held August 5th - 12th in Norfolk, Virginia. Membership at National Conventions is restricted to voting members of the National Executive Committee who shall vote at the same time with their posts and delegates. Each post may send up to one delegate and one alternate for each ten members.

The leader of the JWV, the National Commander, is elected at each National Convention, serving a term beginning with the adjournment of the National Convention and ending with the adjournment of the next National Convention. If a vacancy occurs in the office of National Commander, it is filled by election by the National Executive Committee, and the chairman of the National Executive Committee acts as National Commander until such election, to be held at the next National Executive Committee meeting or within 60 days, whichever occurs first. No person is allowed to succeed himself or herself to the office of National Commander, except when the U.S. is at war.

Additionally, in any department consisting of 10 or more posts, no two members of the same post may serve at the same time as an elected National Executive committeeman. National Executive Committeemen serve one-year terms commencing with the adjournment.

Membership
Membership eligibility is established in the JWV's National Constitution, which lists the forms of membership as active, associate, honorary, in-service, posthumous, life, and distinguished life, and provides that "No person who promotes, or is a member of any organization or group which believes in, or advocates, bigotry or the overthrow of the United States government by force of arms or subversion" shall be eligible for membership.

Active membership may be granted to "any person of the Jewish faith of good character" who is a U.S. citizen and was an active duty member of the U.S. military (including the National Guard and Reserves) in or during any war, campaign, or conflict. The National Constitution also requires that members to have not been discharged under any conditions other than honorable.

Associate membership may be conferred on any Jew and U.S. citizen who does not qualify for active membership but who did either serve in wartime in a military allied to the United States and have been honorably discharged, or served in the U.S. military but not in wartime. The Constitution establishes that associate members are entitled to all the rights and privileges of active members except the right to act as a delegate of any echelon.

Life members are equivalent to active members but have no obligation to pay dues. Distinguished life veterans are those who are otherwise eligible to active or associate membership and are certified by the National Executive Director as a "service-connected paraplegic, a double amputee, or is suffering from a service connected total blindness." Like life members, distinguished life veterans are equivalent to active or associate members but have no obligation to pay dues.

Posthumous membership may be granted with the written consent of the next of kin of a Jewish member of the armed forces, of the Jewish faith who died while in the service. In-service membership may be granted to any Jew and American citizen of good character serving in active duty in the U.S. military. In-service members are exempt from dues.

Honorary membership may be conferred upon those ineligible for active membership who have "performed distinguished or faithful service for the United States of America, or for this Organization," and may be conferred only by the National Convention, "after investigation and report received from a Committee designated by the National Executive Committee."

Activities
The Jewish War Veterans divides its activities into four areas: patriotic, Jewish, service, and affinity.

Patriotic
The Jewish War Veterans engage in advocacy to preserve religious freedom and separation of church and state as it relates to the U.S. military. Among other activities, the group has criticized Evangelical proselytizing at the United States Air Force Academy and has criticized the presence of crosses on war memorials and military bases. The Jewish War Veterans filed lawsuits seeking the removal of the Mount Soledad cross as well as a large cross at Camp H. M. Smith, and supported a federal court decision to remove a cross on federal lands at an armed forces memorial at Mojave National Preserve.

The JWV also has programs supporting the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Each year the JWV holds a memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery commemorating Orde Wingate, a major general in the British Army and Zionist. The JWV also holds Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies, as well as Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial programs, as well as programs for Vietnam veterans.

The JWV also actively supports women in the military.

Jewish
The JWV manages the National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington, D.C., close to its headquarters.

The organization sponsors, in cooperation with the Department of Defense, a Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust observance on military installations during the week coinciding with Yom HaShoah.

The JWV administers a JWV National Reward Fund, which offers rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who have perpetrated antisemitic and other hate crimes and presents about 30 engraved Kiddush cups to Jewish graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, and U.S. Air Force Academy each year.

Additionally, the JWV runs the Lend a Hand program for the Jewish homeless and the poor, particularly needy veterans.

Service
The JWV gives different awards to its members for excellence and service, including awards give to different departments, councils, or posts, as well as any echelon or to individuals. The JWV also gives college scholarships to high school seniors who are direct descendants of members in good standing. The group runs a "Support Our Soldiers" (SOS), which sends care packages of toiletries and kosher food, and Jewish holiday items to Jewish soldiers serving overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere.

The JWV also runs anti-substance abuse programs, a disaster relief fundraising and volunteer program, and a National Stamp Distribution Program for "hospitalized veterans, shut-ins, and school-age children."

JWV members also volunteer at VA hospitals and maintains a videotape library on veterans' affairs, Israel, and JWV topics for members.

Affinity
The JWV offers group insurance plans for its members, as well as discount and promotion plans in cooperation with businesses, including Hertz car rentals, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and Bank of America.