World Zionist Organization

Closing the circle: Inside the campaign to bring Theodor Herzl’s grandparents to Mount Herzl

WZO Chairman Yaakov Hagoel says the reburial is part of a larger argument: the myth of the assimilated Herzl has done real damage to Zionist education.

|ByZVIKA KLEIN
CHAIRMAN YAAKOV HAGOEL on the World Zionist Organization balcony in Jerusalem, in homage to Theodor Herzl’s iconic pose at the Hotel Les Trois Rois in Basel, Switzerland, in the early 1900s.
Right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson (l) hosts Israeli leftist, former interim president and former speaker of the Knesset, Avraham Burg, on his program, March 23, 2026.

Avraham Burg, longtime fixture of Israeli left, meets Tucker Carlson on his own turf

“Listen, Tucker, I cannot stand you,” the former Knesset speaker told his interviewer over a video call. “But you’re a nice person, so I talk with you.”

|ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
SILVIO JOSKOWICZ

Judaism as culture: A path to restore Jewish, Zionist pride - opinion

Today, more than ever, we need that same “renewing generation” – one that examines and tests, but above all, draws near and restores Jewish and Zionist pride to our sisters and brothers overseas.

|BySILVIO JOSKOWICZ
A Jewish woman prays at the Little Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, February 18, 2026

Knesset advances bill granting Chief Rabbinate authority over Western Wall prayer

The bill passed by a margin of 56-47 and will now be discussed in Knesset committee meetings. It will still need to undergo three more plenum readings to become a law. 

|ByKESHET NEEV

WZO votes to approve new leadership amid ongoing negotiations

The WZO said that Rabbi Doron Perez would serve as the new chairman, rotating with Yaakov Hagoel.

NOVEMBER 11, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Head of WZO Yaakov Hagoel.

World Zionist Circus: A funhouse mirror of Israeli politics - comment

The same symptoms that afflict the WZC afflict other bodies in Israel and Diaspora politics: An insulated elite that is inwardly focused on personal interests.

NOVEMBER 10, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
PARTICIPANTS SING ‘Hatikvah’ at the end of a gala event on occasion of the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress at the original venue, the Stadtcasino Basel, in Basel, Switzerland, on Monday.

Debate and disagreement it is a wholeheartedly Zionist exercise -opinion

The 39th World Zionist Congress created a space for all who are invested in the Zionist project to be at the table without checking their values at the door.

NOVEMBER 9, 2025BySAM BERKMAN, NOMI COLTON-MAX
HATIKVAH AND Labor Zionist Alliance delegates at the World Zionist Congress: Zionism has never skirted the tough questions, and it was encouraging to see that tradition continue at this Congress, say the writers.

Perez for WZO pres? WZC vote extended, but agreement renegotiated

World Mizrachi CEO Rabbi Doron Perez is poised to become the president of the World Zionist Organization, while incumbent World Likud head Yaakov Hagoel could be part of the chairman rotation.

NOVEMBER 4, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Head of WZO Yaakov Hagoel.

WZC supposed to be about unity; J Street made it about division - opinion

Next time, the World Zionist Congress should return to its roots – a forum for shared purpose, not a playground for fringe politics.

NOVEMBER 3, 2025ByALAN LEVINE
J STREET FOUNDER Jeremy Ben-Ami is flanked by Jill Jacobs of T’ruah (left) and Margo Hughes-Robinson of Partners for Progressive Israel. Ben-Ami used his platform to push divisive political resolutions, the writer charges.

Idealism at the WZC: The future of Zionism looks bright - opinion

I left the conversation soaring – confident that within this broad yet focused movement filled with so many caring, committed, capable people, we agree far more than we disagree.

NOVEMBER 2, 2025ByGIL TROY
THE WRITER addresses the Conference on Informal Education and Leadership, sponsored by the World Zionist Organization’s Dept. of Pioneering Youth and Future Generations, run in parallel with the World Zionist Congress.

WZC votes on deal without Yair Netanyahu, but right slates call for delay

If the vote proceeds, it would approve Perez as WZO chairman from November until April 30, 2028, and for Hagoel to resume his chairmanship from May 1, 2028.

NOVEMBER 2, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a court hearing in the defamation lawsuit filed by former MK Stav Shafir in Tel Aviv, on November 29, 2022.

World Zionist Congress passes key resolutions, while E1 settlements project lead to walkouts

Subjects as antisemitism and education receive overwhelming support, while more controversial matters, such as the rejection of settlement building, saw a mass walkout in the WZC.

OCTOBER 30, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
The World Zionist Organization building in Tel Aviv, overlooking Leonardo da Vinci Street, displayes the Declaration of Independence September 12, 2023

‘I'm not being paid, I'm not running away’: Lizzy Savetsky tells ‘Post’

Influencer-activist addresses WikiLeaks controversy, Netanyahu's son's WZO appointment drama, and NYC's political future in candid interview

OCTOBER 30, 2025ByEZRA TAYLOR
Pro-Israel influencer Lizzy Savetsky before her interview at the Jerusalem Post studio in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, following a late-night World Zionist Congress session.

Controversial Yair Netanyahu appt to WZO gives Hagoel opportunity to keep role at WZO

Renewed negotiations followed Wednesday's proposed deal for the positions in the National Institutions stall, after Culture Minister Miki Zohar advanced the appointment of Yair Netanyahu.

OCTOBER 30, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Yair Netanyahu