Ted Deutch has assumed the helm of American Jewish Committee (AJC) as CEO of the leading global Jewish advocacy organization. He succeeds David Harris, who stepped down Friday, after serving as AJC CEO for more than 32 years.
“Becoming CEO of AJC is a great honor and humbling responsibility,” said Deutch. “I am wholeheartedly committed to furthering AJC’s nonpartisan, centrist approach, and will be steadfast in my efforts to advance the organization’s mission of enhancing the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel.”
Deutch, who describes himself as a fiercely proud Jew, vowed that “AJC will continue to build a brighter Jewish future – uniting against all sources of antisemitism, opening more doors for Israel, and standing up for the democratic values that enabled Jewish communities to flourish across the globe. Through strong, thoughtful, and nonpartisan advocacy, we will make our voices heard in the United States and around the world.”
Deutch has long championed the priorities of the Jewish community, most recently as a member of the US House of Representatives, representing Broward and Palm Beach Counties since 2010.
“The Jewish values that I was brought up with, that are so central to how I approach the world, inform everything I do,” said Deutch, reflecting on his seven terms in Congress and transition to heading AJC. “The work that I’ve done matters so much not just to me, but it matters to my family. They motivate me to do this critical work.”
During his 12 years in Congress, Deutch was an outspoken advocate for Israel, for strong US-Israel relations, for combating antisemitism and other threats to the Jewish people, notably Iran and its ongoing efforts to develop nuclear weapons. He was a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on which he served as the Chairman of the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee; a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee; and Chairman of the House Ethics Committee.
He was a founding Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism, and of the Congressional Hellenic-Israel Alliance, as well as a member of the Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations, the Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus, and of AJC’s Transatlantic Friends of Israel inter-parliamentary group.
Deutch emphasized that expanding the circle of peace in the region following the groundbreaking Abraham Accords, confronting antisemitism wherever it comes from, and continuing to expand the organization’s relationships with governments and civil society, will remain agency priorities. “The Jewish community does not exist in a vacuum. Bringing the Jewish community together with other ethnic and faith groups strengthens our democracy,” he said.
Engaging younger American Jews is also critically important for Deutch. “The single greatest opportunity that the Jewish community has is to ensure that all of the young Jews across the world have the support and the tools that they need to live life proudly Jewish.”
Throughout his life Deutch has championed the priorities of the Jewish community, from his summers at Camp Ramah to his activism at the University of Michigan, where he served as Chair of the Hillel Governing Board, and the University of Michigan Law School. He has served as a lay leader with the Jewish Federations of Cleveland and South Palm Beach County, and as a member of both UJA’s National Young Leadership Cabinet and AIPAC’s National New Leadership Network.
AJC is a major global Jewish advocacy organization with headquarters in New York City, 24 offices across the United States, and 14 overseas posts plus partnerships with 37 Jewish community organizations worldwide.
