Averting Crisis, Compromise Reached on Top Jobs at Zionist Institutions

Agreement over allocation of senior positions in World Zionist Organization and its affiliates prevented deepening wedge between Israel and Diaspora

A crisis that threatened to drive a deep wedge between Israel and the Diaspora Jewish communities was averted on Thursday evening, after a compromise was reached allowing the non-Orthodox movements and center-left parties to retain some influence in the key Zionist institutions.

This agreement over the allocation of senior positions in the World Zionist Organization and its affiliate organizations – the Jewish Agency, United Israel Appeal and the Jewish National Fund – was reached after three intensive days of negotiations among the various delegations to the World Zionist Congress, which met this week.

A preliminary agreement, drafted over the weekend by the right-wing and rigidly Orthodox parties that hold a slight majority in the current congress, sought to deprive the non-Orthodox movements and center-left parties of almost all positions of power in the Zionist institutions.

But the delegations to the congress came under intense pressure from prominent Zionist organizations outside Israel as well as leading figures in the non-Orthodox movements to revise it or risk a major split in the Jewish world.

The amended agreement was expected to pass easily in a vote scheduled to be held on Thursday night.

Among the concessions to the progressive parties and movements:

A woman from Yesh Atid, the centrist party, will be appointed as president of the Zionist Movement, which falls under the auspices of the WZO.

The position of head of the education department at the Jewish National Fund will be rotated between Eretz Kadosh – a brand new, ultra-Orthodox party based in the United States – and centrist Kahol Lavan, and not be held exclusively by the former, as originally proposed.

The position of vice chairman of the WZO will be assigned to a leading representative of Conservative Judaism – Yizhar Hess, who will be leaving his position as executive director of the movement in Israel to assume this new role.

The position of deputy chairman of the Jewish Agency will be assigned to a yet unnamed representative of the Reform movement.

The position of chairman of the finance committee of the JNF will be handed over from Likud to Yesh Atid.

The composition of the executive boards of the WZO and its affiliates will reflect the breakdown of delegates in the congress, giving right-wing and religious parties a slight majority of seats on these boards, but not an overwhelming majority, as originally proposed.

Three new departments to be created in the WZO will be headed by representatives of the center-left and non-Orthodox movements: A representative of Meretz will head a new division devoted to social justice, a representative of the Reform movement will head a new division focused on outreach to Israelis living in the Diaspora, and a representative of Labor will head a new division devoted to Jewish culture

https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-compromise-reached-on-top-jobs-allocation-at-zionist-institutions-averting-crisis-1.9256008