As part of the 39th World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem this week, delegates will consider dozens of resolutions in a plenary vote on Thursday – but some of the articles touch on Israeli political fault lines.
Some draft resolutions have already been submitted in advance before their discussion in their respective committees, which are divided by subject. Several touch on contentious issues, including the military draft, sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, and the establishment of an October 7 massacre state inquiry.
Resolutions on the West Bank
The Sovereignty & Borders Committee is set to deliberate on three items relating to sovereignty, just a week after Noam MK Avi Maoz’s bill to apply sovereignty to the West Bank advanced to committee after passing its first reading.
The draft WZC resolution submitted by the Israel365 Action sought to affirm and support Maoz’s bill, which caused controversy amid US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel. The resolution called on the government to immediately implement the bill’s content, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been adverse to pursuing the agenda at this time. If the resolution passes, it would see the National Institutions investing in the development of the disputed territories.
“Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley constitute an inseparable part of the Land of Israel – the historical, cultural, and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people,” read the resolution. “The establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River has been proven, most tragically by the massacre of October 7, 2023, to pose an existential threat to the State of Israel, its citizens, and the stability of the entire region, thereby contradicting the Zionist vision of national rebirth and secure sovereignty in our ancestral homeland.”
Another resolution on the extension of sovereignty was proposed by the World Organization of Orthodox Communities and Synagogues, but was limited to calling for the extension of further control over the Temple Mount. The resolution would see the WZC declare the Temple Mount core to the Jewish people’s historical and religious bonds to the land, and call upon the government to bolster sovereignty.
Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount has long been a contentious issue for Palestinians and Arab states such as Jordan, which acts as a custodian of the holy site. Jihadist groups have used perceived or real changes on the Temple Mount, including minor ones, as the justification for terrorist attacks, including the October 7 massacre.
The Labor Zionist Alliance, in contrast, submitted a draft resolution that would resolve the WZC to urge the Israeli government to halt any new settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank. The WZC would explain, as the draft did, that the just path for maintaining a Jewish democratic state must include the establishment of a sister Palestinian state.
The resolution comes two months after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved the new E1 settlement plan near Ma’aleh Adumim.
World Union of Meretz submitted another settlement-related resolution to the National & Social Policy committee, demanding that the WZO be prevented from financing any settlement of the Gaza Strip.
Resolutions on the draft
The Pluralism, Social Justice & Jewish Unity Committee will discuss equity issues that also touch on cleavages in Israeli society, chief among those being the military draft. The Masorti Olami slate would see through its resolution the WZC support legislation that would establish a draft to the IDF or national service for all citizens.
The effort would include financing educational programs explaining the importance of the universal draft, while avoiding partnerships with entities against the agenda. The Zionist institution would tell the Israeli government to adopt legislation that would “end discrimination in the obligation to serve.”
Yesh Atid also proposed an amendment to the WZC resolution that would require Israeli delegates to have completed military or national service, unless otherwise exempt.
The proposals follow the submission of a Likud plan to draft 50% of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population, and mounting protests by segments of the demographic in response to the arrest of draft dodgers. As the IDF has increasingly issued enlistment orders, thousands of Satmar Jews protested at the Israeli Manhattan consulate last Sunday.
Another equality issue, brought up in a draft resolution by Masorti Olami in the Pluralism, Social Justice & Jewish Unity Committee, called for the Israeli government and Jerusalem Municipality to open public access to the Family Wall, the southern part of the Western Wall. The resolution explained that the section of the holy site should be accessible as an egalitarian area, and insisted on the congress recognizing the right of all streams of Judaism to conduct ceremonies and visit all sections of the Kotel.
Resolution on an inquiry into October 7
While the Knesset State Control Committee voted on Wednesday against a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre, MERCAZ Olami called for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry headed by a Supreme Court justice to “investigate all events and failures leading up to and during October 7.”
The draft resolution desired to examine intelligence, operational, and political failures, and to submit recommendations. The text argued that “there is an immediate need to uncover the truth in order to restore public confidence in the state and security systems and to provide answers to the families of those who were killed, kidnapped, or evacuated.”
The government has argued that it is impractical to conduct an investigation during the war, but the Supreme Court issued a ruling that the government had one month to update on the progress of creating an investigative body.
Keshet Neev and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.