American civic advocacy institution

Stand with Israel. Fight antisemitism. Check the record.

OZJF is an American advocacy group. We defend Israel, fight antisemitism, and source every claim. Read the record — then make up your own mind.

Read the Research Support OZJF

Journalists on deadline Fast background with real sources Quotes, statements, press kit, and the research pages most useful when the story breaks now. Students and campus leaders Answer hard questions. Report hate. Organize. Campus talking points, incident reporting, and action guides built for pressure-packed campus life. Donors and partners See how we work before you give Governance, editorial standards, and how we back partners like Lox & Loaded on the record. Skeptical readers Check our work. That is the point. Every claim on this site links back to a public source. Start with the research library and methodology.

Stand with Israel. Fight antisemitism. Defend the truth. OZJF is an American advocacy group for people who want the facts, the sources, and a clear moral spine behind every claim.

We defend the right of the Jewish people to live in peace and self-govern. We back a strong U.S.-Israel partnership. And we hold the line against Hamas, the Palestinian Authority martyrs fund, and the rise of antisemitism in American life.

We also treat people like adults. Palestinian civilians are civilians. Facts matter. Sources matter. Every claim on this site links back to a public record you can check.

New here? Start with the research library. Want to help? Support our work or join a coalition partner like Lox and Loaded. The louder the noise gets, the more we need a clear, honest voice. That is what we are building.

This week at OZJF

What we work on

Five fights. One steady voice.

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. A government that pays for terror does not deserve recognition.

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.

Governance ruler

Each band is a ruling power over Gaza. Widths are proportional to time. Pins mark pivotal modern moments.

Some bands overlap because multiple powers claimed the region at once. Overlapping bands sit on a second row.

Start with the chapters

On phones, the most useful view is a readable sequence. Tap an era to update the detail below, or open the chapter for sources.

Modern turning points

c. 3000 BCE - 332 BCE

Ancient foundations

Open chapter

Gaza began as a Canaanite city on a trade route between Africa and Asia, then passed through Egyptian, Philistine, Israelite, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian periods.

This chapter is about long-duration place history, not modern nationalism. Gaza mattered because it sat on a coastal corridor. That made it valuable to whichever power controlled the route, and it helps explain why its earliest history is a succession of outside rulers rather than a single continuous state.

Rulers within this chapter

Canaanite

United Israel

Israel & Judah

Assyria

Babylon

Persia

Who ruled

Canaanite city networks
Egyptian imperial influence
Philistine pentapolis
Israelite and Judahite interaction
Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian control

Teaching note

Useful for teaching the difference between a geographic place, a people, and a later national movement.

Sources for this chapter

Britannica — History of Palestine Britannica — Philistine people

This is a governance timeline. It traces political control over Gaza. It does not deny Palestinian identity, and it does not treat the history of the people of the land as reducible to one modern slogan.

Explore the full timeline Read the governance record Teacher and professor materials

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

Why trust us

Three things that set this site apart.

Every claim sourced

No anonymous assertions

Each research page links to public records you can open and read yourself.

Editorial standards

Plain-English review

We publish our editorial standards and correct mistakes in public, with dates.

American in scope

Built for U.S. readers

OZJF is an American advocacy group. We care about the Israel–America relationship and what it means at home.

How to plug in

Pick the door that fits your time.

Join the next campaign

Campaigns, student actions, and incident reporting live in one place. Skim and pick one that fits your time.

Give to OZJF or to humanitarian relief

We keep institutional support separate from relief giving so you know exactly what your dollar does.

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.

Every page cites its sources. If we get something wrong, you can find it and tell us.
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 & Loaded We 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

Real sources. Real moral spine. Real American voice.

If this site is useful to you, fund it. We are a small team. Every dollar goes to research, translation, and the kind of writing that does not flinch.

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