NFTY is the North American branch of Netzer Olami, the worldwide Progressive Zionist Youth movement.

[1] NFTY was originally focused in three regions - New York City, Chicago, and Pennsylvania; it soon expanded to all areas of the UAHC.

[3] Rabbi Sam Cook organized one of the first regional Labor Day Conclaves of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) Pennsylvania State Federation, held at Pinemere Camp in 1939.

Local, regional, and national social action efforts were commonplace on issues from the releases of Russian Jews to the fight against poverty to hunger.

The NFTY Summer Antiquities Tour brought NFTYites to see the sights and meet the Jewish youth of Europe and Israel.

[9] Past NFTYites and NFTY leadership[10] can be found as numerous rabbis, cantors, educators, social workers, synagogue leaders, and active Reform Jews across the world.

Throughout the 2014–2015 NFTY year, the Regional Presidents Network drafted a new mission statement to reflect the cohesive values, aspirations, and goals of the North American Federation of Temple Youth.

The mission statement reads as follows: NFTY is divided into three levels:[11] Temple Youth Group (TYG), Regional, and North American.

At each level, authority is divided between elected youth boards and supervisors employed by the URJ or local synagogue.

The youth group advisor or director is sometimes a volunteer in the congregation, a parent, a part-time staff person, or, in a small, but increasing number of synagogues, a full-time position.

NFTY is divided into nineteen regions [12] which hold events to bring together different TYGs based on geographical distribution.

Relations between regions range from friendly "rivalry" to "alliance" and are subject to combinations and divisions that occur due to membership fluctuation.

The NFTY board[15] is elected each year to establish general policy and themes for the organization as a whole, as well as lead the various leadership networks.

Each convention was held in conjunction with the URJ Youth Workers Conference and a plenary session, or asefah, for regional board members.

In the 1950s, high school aged students sang songs composed by Hy Zaret and Lou Singer, such as "Close Your Eyes and Point Your Finger" and "It Could Be a Wonderful World," in order to promote social consciousness in young people,[17] and learned the dance steps and music popular on Israeli kibbutzim at the time, such as the water dance ("Mayim Mayim").

Following the Six-Day War in Israel, a surge of Zionism in Jewish life pushed Hebrew, Israeli, Chasidic, and liturgically based songs to the forefront.

The album, produced by Loui Dobin, now the director of Greene Family Camp, was quickly followed by 5 more albums: Shiru Shir Chadash (1973), Ten Shabbat V'Ten Shalom (Give Us Sabbath and Give Us Peace) (1974), Eit Hazmir, The Time of Singing (1977), and nfty at 40: this is very good (1980).

Performers popular within NFTY include Debbie Friedman,[17] Kol B'Seder (Rabbi Danny Freelander and Cantor Jeff Klepper),[17] Ramie and Merri Arian, Doug Mishkin, Peri Smilow, Julie Silver, Dan Nichols, Josh Nelson, Bryan Zive, Chana Rothman Noam Katz, Rick Recht, Alan Goodis,[citation needed], and Jacob "Spike" Kraus.