Bend the Arc

Bend the Arc
Name	Bend the Arc
Formation	2012
Type	Advocacy organization
Headquarters	New York City, New York
Region served	United States
Leaders	Stosh Cotler (former CEO), Vanita Gupta (board member)
Website	bendthearc.us

Bend the Arc is a progressive Jewish advocacy organization active in United States civic life and social justice movements, engaging in community organizing, electoral politics, and policy advocacy. Founded by leaders from Jewish community organizing networks, the organization operates at the intersection of faith-based mobilization and secular coalitions, working with labor unions, civil rights groups, and electoral campaigns. Its activities encompass grassroots organizing, issue-based campaigns, litigation support, and coalition-building with national networks.

History

Bend the Arc emerged from a 2012 merger of activists and organizers associated with Jewish communal networks, tracing antecedents to Jewish Voice for Peace, J Street, Americans for Peace Now, and historic organizations such as Hadassah and Anti-Defamation League. Early leadership included figures who had worked with The New Israel Fund, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Progressive Jewish Alliance, and local chapters of Jewish Community Relations Councils. The group quickly aligned with electoral initiatives linked to Democratic National Committee campaigns and collaborated with unions like Service Employees International Union and advocacy coalitions such as Color of Change, MoveOn, and Center for American Progress. Over time Bend the Arc broadened partnerships to include civil rights organizations such as NAACP, immigrant-rights groups like United We Dream, and faith-based networks including PICO National Network and Interfaith Alliance.

Mission and Principles

Bend the Arc states a mission centered on Jewish values applied to public life, connecting traditions of tikkun olam with contemporary struggles represented by allies such as Black Lives Matter, March for Our Lives, and Sunrise Movement. Its stated principles emphasize racial justice, immigrant rights, economic fairness, and opposition to policies associated with Trump administration initiatives and some positions held by Likud-aligned Israeli policy-makers. The organization frames its work in solidarity with movements associated with leaders and institutions like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), and national civil liberties advocates from American Civil Liberties Union.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

Bend the Arc maintains a central staff and board of directors drawing from nonprofit management, legal advocacy, and Jewish communal leadership, featuring past executives with ties to Tamar Man, Stosh Cotler, and board members affiliated with national philanthropy and public-interest law firms connected to figures like Vanita Gupta and officials from Center for Constitutional Rights. The group organizes through regional chapters in metropolitan areas including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston, coordinating with local partners such as Jewish Federations of North America offices and campus groups tied to Hillel International and Students for Justice in Palestine. Governance includes advisory councils, campaign directors, and field organizers who liaise with electoral committees like state Democratic Party organizations and municipal coalitions.

Programs and Campaigns

Programs have included electoral voter engagement, policy advocacy on immigration reform championed alongside National Immigration Law Center and American Immigration Council, and campaigns targeting policing practices in partnership with Black Lives Matter chapters and civil rights litigators from ACLU. Issue-specific campaigns have addressed housing justice with allies like National Low Income Housing Coalition, healthcare access aligned with Families USA, and climate action collaborating with Sierra Club and 350.org. The organization also runs leadership development programs for rabbis and lay leaders similar to initiatives led by Reconstructing Judaism and advocacy fellowships modeled after programs from Bend the Arc Foundation and other philanthropic entities.

Political Activities and Advocacy

Bend the Arc engages in electoral endorsements, get-out-the-vote operations, and messaging campaigns targeting federal and state elections, coordinating with progressive funders and campaign platforms tied to Priorities USA and independent expenditure groups. It has publicly opposed foreign-policy stances associated with certain Likud officials while supporting negotiations linked to Oslo Accords frameworks and humanitarian responses after conflicts involving Gaza and West Bank; these positions have brought it into coalition work with organizations like J Street and, at times, into critique from groups such as Americans for Peace and Tolerance. The organization has filed amicus briefs and supported litigation with partners such as Southern Poverty Law Center and NAACP Legal Defense Fund on civil rights and immigration cases.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding sources have included individual donors, foundation grants, and collaborative fundraising with philanthropic institutions including Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and faith-based grantmakers connected to Bend the Arc Foundation. Partnerships span labor organizations like AFL–CIO, civic coalitions such as Democracy Alliance, and grassroots groups including Indivisible and Working Families Party. The organization’s fiscal sponsorships and grant reporting have been coordinated with nonprofits and donor-advised funds associated with national philanthropic intermediaries.

Criticism and Controversies

Bend the Arc has been criticized by conservative Jewish organizations including Zionist Organization of America and by more centrist groups like Anti-Defamation League for positions on Israel–Palestine and by progressive allies over tactical disagreements during protests tied to Black Lives Matter and immigration campaigns. Controversies have included internal disputes over endorsement criteria during primary elections involving candidates such as Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, public backlash after statements responding to conflicts in Gaza Strip, and scrutiny of donor influence similar to debates around other nonprofits supported by Open Society Foundations and major philanthropic actors. Category:Jewish political organizations in the United States