On August 11, 1929, the Jewish Agency for Israel was founded. The Jewish Agency is headquartered in Jerusalem and is an international body representing the World Zionist Organization. The organization serves as the main link between Israel and Jewish communities around the world. In the years before and after the founding of the State, the Jewish Agency oversaw the establishment of about 1,000 towns and villages in the land of Israel. The purpose of the Jewish Agency is to assist and encourage Jews worldwide to help develop and settle Israel. It is best known as the primary organization fostering the immigration and absorption of Jews and their families from the Jewish diaspora into Israel. Since 1948, the Jewish Agency for Israel has brought three million immigrants to Israel and offers them transitional housing in absorption centers throughout the country. The Jewish Agency supports a number of programs worldwide that connect young Jews to Israel and their Jewish identity, facilitate Aliyah and immigrant absorption, and help vulnerable populations in Israel.