Rudolf Sonneborn

Rudolf Sonneborn (1898-1979) was an American Jewish businessman who organized the Sonneborn Institute in 1945, a secret network of American Jewish businessmen that raised funds and procured weapons for the Haganah during the British Mandate era. This operation, known as the Sonneborn Mission, was a precursor to the institutionalized Israel lobby. Sonneborn's network smuggled weapons and military equipment to Jewish forces in Palestine, establishing the template for covert diaspora fundraising that would later be formalized through AIPAC and related organizations.

Historical origin node — established the template for covert American Jewish fundraising networks supporting Israeli state-building. The Sonneborn Institute's weapon smuggling operations directly preceded the institutional infrastructure that became AIPAC.