The 39th World Zionist Congress convened in Jerusalem from October 28-October 30. More than 2,500 delegates from 40 countries gathered to discuss the future of the Jewish people and Israel, making it the largest plenary ever.
The record-breaking global elections, held earlier this year, culminated in May with 265,000 votes, including 224,000 votes from the United States. However, nearly 19,000 votes were disqualified due to suspicious activity. The suspicious votes were traced to at least six slates: Am Yisrael Chai; Eretz Hakodesh; ZOA (Zionist Organization of America); Shas USA; Herut North America; and Achdut Israel. Fraudulent patterns included use of prepaid credit cards for multiple ballots, fake email addresses, registrations linked to the same addresses and voters, and vote bursts from the same IP addresses.
The judicial body overseeing Zionist institutions, known as the Zionist Supreme Court, decided not to withdraw valid votes for the slates found to have some fraudulent votes, citing concerns about infringement and democratic rights, but imposed fines and other sanctions on some slates.
For the very first time, seven new countries: Uganda, Ecuador, Paraguay, Serbia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, held a seat.
Some of the items that were discussed include lowering the delegate age to 17, establishing new memorial days for certain figures, equal gender representation across the spectrum, and redefining Zionism post-October 7. Key topics included Israel-Diaspora relations, religious pluralism, relationships with emerging Jewish communities, global antisemitism, disability inclusion within the Jewish community, and more.
This is the first plenary to convene after the October 7, 2023 attacks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declining to speak for the first time, highlighting growing tension between Jewish institutions and the Israeli Government. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was also unavailable. The editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post, Zvika Klein, spoke in the absence of Ambassador Huckabee. President Isaac Herzog also spoke.
Meanwhile, Yair Netanyahu, the older son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was elected as a board member of the World Zionist Organization, sparking backlash from Yesh Atid and Israel’s Democrats Party, which voided a deal with Likud over sharing appointments to the World Zionist Organizations. Yair Netanyahu is expected to run their public diplomacy department and receive conditions equivalent to a minister. He would also receive an office and car. The World Zionist Congress voted to extend the convention by two weeks to allow delegates to vote to officiate national positions, after the Congress continued late into the night.
The World Zionist Congress was first held in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland with 200 delegates from 17 countries. Known as the “Parliament of the Jewish People,” the goal was clear: to establish a political and organizational base to restore Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel. The meeting founded the World Zionist Organization, which is the organizational foundation for Zionism. The Congress met annually, and then every few years. This shaped early Zionist institutions such as the Jewish National Fund, Keren HaYesod, and the Jewish Agency for Israel, and they all have the highest levels of influence at the Congress. Elections are now held every five years.
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