Morton A. "Mort" Klein is a German-born American economist, statistician, and prominent pro-Israel activist, best known as the longtime national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) since 1989 (with some sources noting his presidency from 1996). The ZOA, founded in 1897, is the oldest Zionist organization in the United States and a conservative, hawkish, right-wing pro-Israel advocacy group, known for its lobbying in Washington and its hardline stances on Middle East policy, including opposition to Palestinian statehood, a strong stance against Palestinian causes and antisemitism, and criticism of progressive Jewish organizations. It lobbies for strong U.S. support of Israel, criticizes U.S. policies seen as weak on Israel, supports Israeli policies, and opposes Palestinian statehood initiatives, advocating for strong U.S.-Israel ties. Born in 1947 in a displaced persons camp in Günzburg, Germany, to Holocaust survivor parents—a Polish mother and a rabbi father—Klein immigrated to the United States as a child. His family's traumatic history profoundly shaped his lifelong commitment to Jewish causes, Israel, and combating antisemitism. Before entering advocacy, Klein pursued a successful career in economics and statistics, working at prominent institutions including the United Nations and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, following his education at Yeshiva University and Harvard. As ZOA president, Klein has been a vocal and influential figure in American Jewish leadership, focusing on U.S. policy toward the Middle East. In 2004, The Forward named him one of the fifty most influential Jewish leaders in the United States. He has collaborated professionally with individuals such as Sarah Stern and Mark Levin, and received honors including being the only Jewish leader recognized at the World Zionist Congress for outstanding efforts in defending Israel and the Jewish people. Klein's work extends to public speaking, lobbying, organizational leadership, and confrontational tactics such as lawsuits against universities for anti-Semitic incidents and public denunciations of progressive Jewish groups like J Street. His background as a child of survivors underscores his motivations, driving his activism against what he views as threats to Jewish security. He is widely regarded as one of the leading Jewish activists in the U.S., though his outspoken positions have sometimes sparked controversy within Jewish communities. His tenure at ZOA has been marked by criticism for inflammatory rhetoric, including personal attacks on critics like Peter Beinart, and allegations of creating a toxic work environment with harassment and bullying surfacing in media reports around 2018-2020, though no formal charges resulted. Financially, ZOA receives funding from sources like the Donors Capital Fund, which has ties to foreign influences, underscoring Klein's role in broader networks of pro-Israel influence in American politics.