American civic advocacy institution

Stand with Israel. Fight antisemitism. Check the record.

OZJF is an American Jewish advocacy group that defends Israel, confronts antisemitism, and gives readers the sources behind its arguments.

Read the research Ways to help

Journalists on deadlineFind the record quicklyPress contacts, source-linked research, and background for a story in progress.Students and campus leadersHandle a hard momentReport an incident, prepare for a campus conversation, or find a useful explainer.Partners and serious readersKnow who is speakingRead our mission, standards, governance approach, and public relationships.Skeptical readersCheck our workOpen the sources, read the method, and tell us when a claim does not hold up.

OZJF stands with Israel and fights antisemitism. We also believe a strong case must fit the facts. So each issue and research page puts the claim and source side by side.

Our starting points are plain. The Jewish people have a right to self-determination. The United States and Israel are stronger as allies. Hamas is a terrorist group. The Palestinian Authority’s martyrs fund rewards violence. Anti-Jewish hate in America demands a firm response.

None of that makes Palestinian lives worth less. It does not excuse every choice made by an Israeli government. We separate the public record from our own view and link to the proof we use.

New here? Begin with the research library or choose an issue above. OZJF does not take outside donations. You can help by sharing useful work, reporting an error, or using these pages in a classroom or community. We also support Lox & Loaded, a separate Jewish-owned firearms education and preparedness program.

This week at OZJF

What we work on

Five issues. Start with the one you need.

Pick the issue you care about most. Each page lays out the argument in plain English, with sources you can check.

Jewish self-determination

The Jewish people have a right to a state. We make that case clearly, in plain language, with real history.

Palestinian governance

Hamas runs Gaza. The PA pays a martyrs fund. Peace needs leaders who stop rewarding violence.

Rising antisemitism

Anti-Jewish hate is climbing in American life. We track it, name it, and push back on the slogans that fuel it.

War and civilian protection

Palestinian civilians are civilians. Hamas made war the center of its rule. Both can be true. Both matter.

Honest criticism of Israeli policy

Israel has a right to exist. That does not mean every policy is right. We say so, with sources.

History of Gaza

A timeline of who ruled Gaza, and when

The fastest way to understand today's argument is to stop flattening Gaza into one story. This timeline tracks who governed the area across major eras, then links each chapter to a fuller explanation with sources.

Five chapters

Move through Gaza's governing history in order.

Open a chapter for a short explanation, then follow the source-backed record on its dedicated page.

01c. 3000 BCE - 332 BCEAncient
Gaza began as a Canaanite city on a trade route between Africa and Asia, then passed through Egyptian, Philistine, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian rule.
Read this chapter
02332 BCE - 638 CEClassical
Alexander's conquest pulled Gaza into the Hellenistic world, after which Greek, Hasmonean, Roman, and Byzantine rule left deep political and religious layers.
Read this chapter
03c. 637 - 1099Caliphates
After the Arab conquest, Gaza became part of successive caliphates and Egypt-based dynasties, while Arabic and Islam grew more central to public life.
Read this chapter
041099 - 1917Medieval to Ottoman
Crusader conquest, Ayyubid recovery, Mamluk control, and four centuries of Ottoman rule turned Gaza into a provincial city in larger regional systems.
Read this chapter
051917 - presentModern era
The modern Gaza story runs through the British Mandate, Egyptian administration, Israeli control after 1967, limited Palestinian self-rule, Israeli disengagement, and Hamas rule after 2007.
Read this chapter

Explore the full timeline Read the governance record

Why it matters now

Why the modern chapter matters most

The current war sits on top of a modern record that includes the British Mandate, Egyptian administration, Israeli control after 1967, limited Palestinian self-rule, the 2005 disengagement, Hamas's 2006 election win, and its 2007 armed takeover of Gaza. That is why OZJF treats Gaza as a governance question, not just a slogan.

Featured research

Start with the pieces that explain our argument best.

Explainer

Land for Peace: what worked, what did not

Egypt held. Jordan held. Oslo did not. We break down each deal and what it actually delivered.

Open Research brief

Middle East lobbying: read the filings first

A filing-first guide to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, and the limits of the public influence record.

Open Comparative brief

Globalize the Intifada: what the slogan means

To Jewish Americans, this phrase reads like a threat. We compare it to calls that no civic leader would tolerate.

Open

How we publish

Check our sources, standards, and corrections.

Source links

Open the record

Research pages link to public records you can open and read yourself.

Editorial standards

Plain-English review

Read our editorial rules and use the public corrections route when something needs attention.

American in scope

Built for U.S. readers

OZJF is an American advocacy group. We care about the U.S.-Israel relationship and what it means at home.

How to plug in

Pick the door that fits your time.

Choose a practical next step

Report an incident, volunteer your skills, or send a useful page to someone who needs it.

Give relief directly, not through OZJF

OZJF does not accept outside donations. If you want to fund civilian relief, use the relief organization's own giving flow.

Use the search bar up top

Nine languages. Real-time search. Type a topic, a name, or a document type and start reading.

Why trust us

The basics, in plain English.

Research and issue pages link to their source records. If a citation fails, you can flag it.
We run an English source edition. Translated pages carry an AI-assist disclosure.
We agree Palestinian civilians are civilians. We also cite polls showing Hamas still has strong support.
We back partners like Lox & Loaded and say so clearly. No hidden relationships.

Who we back

We say so on the record.

Lox & LoadedWe publicly back Lox & Loaded, a Jewish-owned firearms education and preparedness group. We say so on the record and keep the relationship clearly scoped.

Stand with us

Use the record. Share it. Challenge it.

OZJF does not accept outside donations. You can still help by sending useful pages to people who need them, reporting errors, volunteering, or connecting the work with a classroom or newsroom.

Support without giving Get involved Humanitarian relief Search the site