ZOA’s Director of Government Relations Dan Pollak meets with members of the Senate and the House or their top staffers on a daily basis, to educate Congress about issues critical to the rights, safety, and security of Israel and the Jewish people, and to promote policies beneficial to both Israel and the U.S. ZOA has built strong relationships in Congress, facilitating the passage of major legislation. ZOA officials also testify before Congressional committees (as well as state and local legislatures) on key issues.

Our testimony played an important role in facilitating many Israel-related U.S. policies:

• A significant focus of ZOA lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. revolves around the fact that the Iranian regime is the true power behind the Hamas attacks and is a fierce enemy of both Israel and the United States.
• ZOA lobbied for Congress to present a bill to prohibit any funding from going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and to eliminate funding for the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) against Israel.  ZOA supports a bill to that effect which was introduced in March of 2024.
• ZOA is urging Congress to strongly opposed to any cease fire proposal without all hostages being released and a complete defeat of Hamas.
• ZOA is also making Congress aware of problematic stances by Qatar, Turkey and Egypt regarding Hamas and the PA.
• ZOA continues to urge Congress to deliver vital military aid to Israel without entanglement with other priorities by either political party.
• ZOA is working directly with Senators and House members to preemptively prevent the imposition of a post-war Gaza government that would include the PA or any UN entity hostile to Israel. Israel must also be free to establish a buffer zone inside Gaza to prevent future terrorist attacks.
• ZOA has been a member of the National Task Force Combatting Antisemitism. ZOA is working with Congress to demand timely answers from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on the formal complaints of Jewish Students.
• ZOA was the first Jewish group to champion the Jerusalem Embassy Act and, for decades, the ZOA’s Government Relations department fought to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, until this effort succeeded in May 2018.
• ZOA persistently advocated the importance of U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and played an integral role in the ultimate change in official government policy.
• The Government Relations department continues to engage with pro-Israel members of Congress to encourage them to push back on the antisemitic statements made by their colleagues and publicly condemn antisemitism and anti-Zionism in Congress.
• Strongly advocated for Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and got the Trump administration to support Israel’s right in principle to apply Israeli law in 30% of Judea and Samaria. 
• When the Abraham accords were announced, ZOA was the only major Jewish organization to continue to push for sovereignty. ZOA strongly supports peace with additional Arab neighbors.
• During the Trump administration, the Government Relations department led the way in efforts to make groundbreaking initiatives through legislation, and not only through executive action. Our efforts have included relations with Iran, protection for Jewish students on campuses, and the curtailing of funds to the Palestinian Authority, especially the funds the PLO uses for the ‘pay to slay’ program, where international funds have been used as incentives for Arabs to kill Israelis and Jews.
• During the Coronavirus pandemic, ZOA has labored to keep foreign policy on the agenda for the very changed environment in Congress and has succeeded in getting vital legislation and congressional letters completed.

The ZOA Government Relations Department also leads an annual Capitol Hill Mission, during which ZOA supporters are joined by ZOA’s staff and leadership in Washington, D.C. to lobby their local government officials on policies that affect Israel and the U.S.

For more information contact Dan Pollak, ZOA’s Director of Government Relations, at [email protected].