Controlling an annual budget of over $1 billion, the World Zionist Congress, which represents Jewish communities from around the world, meets every five years to:
- Set policies that affect the status of Reform Jews in Israel and millions of Israelis
- Make decisions that influence hundreds of millions of dollars in spending
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Influence construction projects and therefore the choice between settlement expansion or a path to peace, and ensuring investment in communities destroyed on October 7th
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What are the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and the World Zionist Congress (WZC)?
The World Zionist Organization (WZO) and the World Zionist Congress (WZC) are central nongovernmental institutions in Israel. While not a part of the Israeli government, “The Parliament of the Jewish People” represents a variety of Israeli political parties, their platforms and visions for Israeli society.
The WZO was founded by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland in 1897 at the first World Zionist Congress. Even though they predate the State of Israel, the country’s founders knew that to succeed it had to be a project of the entire global Jewish People. They baked the WZO and WZC into the Democratic process of Israel as the one way for Diaspora Jews to have a say in the important Issues facing the Jewish People and Jewish State.
WZC
Often called “The Parliament of the Jewish People,” the WZC convenes every five years to bring together representatives from Jewish communities around the world to decide on key issues affecting the Jewish people in Israel and globally.
The Congress elects the leadership of the WZO, sets policies, and influences the allocation of significant funding of about $1 billion annually.
For more details, visit the WZO’s mission statement.
WZO
The WZO plays a crucial role in supporting activities worldwide which promote Jewish identity and Statehood and combat antisemitism.
Members of Jewish communities worldwide vote for representatives in the WZO, designating decision-makers to hold key positions in Israeli National Institutions such as The Jewish Agency for Israel and Keren Kayemeth L’YIsrael (also known as KKL, the Israeli branch of the Jewish National Fund).
The WZO is responsible for setting policies, electing leadership, and directing various departments that oversee educational, cultural, and developmental activities within Israel.
For example, these institutions (KKL) make consequential decisions about where to purchase land and build new communities. Their actions can make the difference between expanding settlements in the West Bank or pausing in favor of a path to peace.