The World Zionist Congress passed and rejected a series of resolutions on Wednesday night, with some subjects, such as antisemitism and education, receiving overwhelming support, but more controversial matters, such as the rejection of settlement building, seeing a mass walkout.
Committees had met on the morning of the congress’s second day to deliberate, hone, and approve resolution drafts to be voted on at a Thursday plenary, but anticipated disruptions in Jerusalem due to haredi (ultra-Orthodox) anti-military draft protests led the plenary to be rescheduled for Wednesday night. Many of the proceedings were benign, but the more controversial resolutions led to large disruptions.
A resolution submitted by the Labor Zionist Alliance proposed that the congress urge the Israeli government to halt any new settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank, but more Orthodox, religious, and right-wing factions walked out of the hall to prevent the holding of the required quorum for the vote to be legitimate.
There were more votes in favor of the resolution, but it did not appear that at least half of the delegates participated. The speaker announced that a legal adviser would issue a decision on the validity of the vote at a later date.
The intervention of the World Zionist Organization’s legal advisers was also demanded by opponents of a resolution submitted by the World Union of Progressive Judaism. The resolution called for institutionalized “equal opportunity” budgeting for all denominations of Judaism, women, LGBTQ, and across the National Institutions.
After the resolution passed, opponents disrupted the proceedings with chants of “shame,” arguing that the vote was held before proper discussion on the item was finished. A second vote again approved the resolution, and proponents stated that the behavior of other delegates demonstrated “gratuitous hatred.”
Antisemitism and interreligious resolutions at WZC
A vote overwhelmingly rejected a resolution by Israel 365 devoted to “strengthening relations with Christian allies” with new initiatives to welcome Christian Zionists to Israel, including a Taglit-style program and Christian youth educational programs.
Opponents warned that some of the ideas could invite missionaries to proselytize in Israel. Israel 365 founder Rabbi Tuly Weisz told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that it was a shame that the congress couldn’t agree on “thanking our non-Jewish allies,” blaming left-wing delegates for the resolution’s defeat.
He explained that the draft had gone through a lot of good-faith discussion and changes based on consensus to have it passed through the committee, but the open-minded dialogue was abandoned at the plenary when delegates blindly voted along party lines.
“The only thing that can unite the Zionist movement is antisemitism,” Weisz remarked about the disputes on the resolutions.
The three resolutions on antisemitism, calling for cooperation with international sports institutions and development of support frameworks to combat antisemitism in sports; creation of a centralized entity to aid local Jewish communities in fighting antisemitism; and issuing demands to universities about campus antisemitism; all passed almost unanimously.
No one spoke against the resolutions, but Aish Ha’am delegate Shabbos Kestenbaum railed against resolutions that “don’t do a goddamn thing to help us” when the National Institution leaders determined the allocation of funding in backroom deals. He chastised the congress for failing to help Jewish students who had been assaulted and persecuted on campus.
“We should not need to come all the way here to beg to allocate funding,” said Kestenbaum.
Resolutions that touched on fault lines in Israeli politics and society passed, such as a call for egalitarianism at the Kotel and for the WZO to fund any Gaza settlement initiatives. As Jerusalem prepared for Thursday’s anti-draft demonstrations, a Masorti Olami slate submission for the WZC to support legislation that would establish a more universal draft to the IDF or national service passed muster.
A resolution calling for a government October 7 massacre inquiry also passed, but opponents echoed the government’s own apprehension of investigating while the war and hostage crisis were ongoing.
A constitutional amendment required those leading the National Institutions had to make a pledge to the Zionist values detailed in the Jerusalem Program. Another amendment to lower the WZC voting age to 17 did not pass.
A last-minute constitutional amendment was also submitted by the WZO executives, expanding the board from 14 to 24 seats. This was later followed by the surprise that Culture Minister Miki Zohar had proposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair Netanyahu take a seat on the expanded executive.
The controversy saw no climactic conclusion, and no vote to affirm the coalition agreement on National Institution positions. Instead, a vote was held to technically expand the congress by two weeks, under which delegates would officiate a future deal through a remote electronic vote.
While the delegates were restless after the long day, the entire room gathered to finish the congress by singing the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah.”