Josh Block
Image by Nathan Guttman
The choice of Josh Block, 40, to head The Israel Project, one of the Jewish community’s fastest growing pro-Israel organizations, marked a clear shift for the group and in Block’s professional trajectory.
A former media relations professional, Block was best known as the combative spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where he served for nine years, until 2010. Both during his time as the lobby front man in the press and afterward, Block struck a tough position against those critical of Israeli government policies, whether from within the left-leaning flanks of the Jewish community, or from the administration.
As president and CEO of TIP, Block has struggled to uphold a bipartisan image, stressing his past work with Democratic politicians, although he did not avoid criticizing the choice of Chuck Hagel as U.S. defense secretary.
Block took over the helm of TIP at a time of transition, after the turbulent departure of the group’s founder and president Jennifer Laszlo-Mizrahi. As head of the organization, which focuses on pro-Israel media and public education, Block led an operational overhaul that included slashing most of its international programs and cutting jobs. He then launched a pro-Israel news website and a magazine featuring in-depth reporting on the Middle East.
Block still sees much of the threat facing Israel as coming from individuals and groups within the liberal wing. TIP’s work under his leadership, he believes, “blunts the spread of false, malignant, even anti-Semitic claptrap.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
