Science Fair Project Encyclopedia The Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations of America , more popularly known as the Orthodox
Union, or OU, is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations
in the United States. It is best known for its kosher
supervision service, with the circled-U symbol found on the
labels of many commercial and consumer food products. The OU
suports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and
Religious Zionist advocacy, programs for the disabled, localized
religious stufy programs, and some international units with
locations in Israel and Ukraine. This organization should not be
confused with the Union of Orthodox Rabbis , a distinct Haredi
rabbinical group with a similar name that preceded the founding
of the OU. The UOJCA was founded in 1898, and today serves over
800 congregations of varying size. The need for a national
Jewish Orthodox rabbinical organization in the early twentieth
century was recognized by a number of groups. The Union of
Orthodox Rabbis was the most powerf