Tales from the 39th World Zionist Congress
Friday October 31, 2025 – ט״ז חֶשְׁוָן תשפ”ו
In his wildest dreams, Theodor Herzl, despite being an incredible visionary, could not have imagined the scene that took place yesterday in Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews descended on the capital city to protest the possibility of being drafted into the army. “WE WOULD RATHER DIE BEFORE BEING DRAFTED,” read their placards and chants, as this record-breaking gathering of Haredi draft opponents forced a shutdown of the entrance to Jerusalem, forcing the World Zionist Congress to ironically move its plenary session a night early and close up shop to prevent people from getting stuck in a black-hatted gridlock.
The World Zionist Congress today is less a parliament than a heartbeat. It’s an eclectic gathering of Jews from corners of the world, still trying to translate a century-old dream into the language of now. It’s where the descendants of Herzl’s pen meet the inheritors of his question:
What kind of people shall we be, now that we are home?
Inside its halls, you’ll find arguments draped in flags, songs sung in accents from Buenos Aires to Boston, Belarus to Beersheva. Delegates holding laptops and smartphones in one hand and distant memory in the other… some holding on to romanticized visions of what Institutional Zionism could and should be.
It is democracy with a shofar’s echo — messy, earnest, sacred — a chorus of conviction that believes Israel is not just a place on the map, but an ongoing idea that belongs to us all.
The Congress is where Zionism wrestles with itself: between power and purpose, between the past that built us and the future that beckons. We, as Reform Jews, come to that table carrying our own light, schlepping our own baggage and worldview — the conviction that Judaism must be plural, that love of Israel must live with love of equality, that the promise of Zion is incomplete until every voice is heard.
Our Reform Movement delegation — representing many corners of the Jewish world — arrived in Jerusalem with passion, pride, and purpose. Rabbis and cantors, educators and activists, students and seasoned lay leaders — all came as carriers of a shared vision: a Zionism rooted in pluralism, democracy, and the belief that the State of Israel must reflect the full diversity of the Jewish people.
As we gathered the week of Parashat Lech L’cha, we were reminded of God’s call to Abraham: “וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה – Veheyeh berachah” – “and you shall be a blessing.” That charge echoed through our delegation — to bring blessing into the Zionist conversation, to build bridges across difference, and to ensure that the institutions of the Jewish world reflect compassion, justice, and hope, in fulfillment of the wishes of all who voted for us.
Throughout the Congress, our delegates brought song and spirit into every room. We spoke with conviction about equality and inclusion, about Israel as both a homeland and a source of hope. We debated policy, built partnerships, and reminded everyone that Reform Jews are not spectators in the Zionist story — we are shapers of it.
We came to make an impact, and we were deeply impacted in return — by the power of gathering as Am Yisrael, by the urgency of this moment in Jewish history, and by the enduring truth that when Reform Jews show up, our presence changes the conversation. The 39th World Zionist Congress renewed our commitment to work for an Israel that is strong, free, and pluralistic — a home for every kind of Jew and a beacon for the values we hold sacred.
We showed up after long-fought campaigns with delegates bent on flexing their muscles and pronouncing our presence to all those who seek our weakening: “We are here.” Through 10 committees debating resolutions submitted by a panoply of parties, we argued, word-smithed, organized, and maneuvered our way to success.
Team Reform, along with our allies from the Conservative Movement (Mercaz) and the Progressive Zionists – Hatikva, Labor, Meretz (Brit Etz), Yesh Atid, and even liberal Orthodox Jews, won and won big.
We passed all of our resolutions on issues that are close to our hearts. We pushed for security for our congregations after being attacked in Raanana, we supported lone soldiers, and the rebuilding of the otef kibbutzim. Committed to an equitable military draft in Israel, demanded immediate reopening of direct access to the egalitarian section of the Kotel (Western Wall), and called for an immediate commission of inquiry into the political and military failures that enabled Hamas to carry out its horrific massacre of 10.7.23.
The “coalition agreement” — a Zionist echo of Israeli politics
Just like in Israel’s Knesset, n o single ideological bloc (right, center, left, Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, etc.) typically attains a majority of delegates. So, the various factions must negotiate a coalition agreement — a power-sharing deal that determines:
- Which factions get which leadership roles (chairs, vice chairs, committee heads)?
- How budgets and appointments will be divided.
- What guiding principles will govern the National Institutions for the next five years (e.g., commitments to democracy, pluralism, settlement activity, social priorities, etc.)?
This coalition agreement was negotiated and drafted by faction leaders — often after marathon overnight sessions — and presented to the full Congress for ratification. It’s essentially a political covenant stating: “We, the assembled Zionist movements, agree to work together and share power in this way.”
Our Israeli Reform negotiating team did yeoman’s work in ensuring that we were well represented in the World Zionist Organization, KKL, and the Jewish Agency, and that our appointed leaders (in both paid professional and lay leadership positions) will represent the tens of thousands of people who voted for us this year.
As we were minutes away from signing an agreement by the center-left and center-right blocs to split the leadership of Israel’s major national institutions under a shared leadership model, a last-minute development caught everyone’s attention. Minister Miki Zohar of the Likud, who had been negotiating on behalf of his half of a split party, announced that Yair Netanyahu (son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) was going to be placed in a senior position within the WZO (the Hasbara or Advocacy & Diaspora division)
This sparked significant backlash: The opposition parties, including ARZENU/Reform Movement and other Zionist institutional stakeholders, called the attempt “corrupt”, “nepotistic”, “disgraceful”.
Yair Netanyahu has been living in Miami and is a seminal figure responsible for what many Israelis commonly refer to as the “Poison Machine.” The “poison machine” is a metaphor for a coordinated propaganda apparatus, comprising multiple channels (broadcast media, talk shows, social media bots, messaging apps, and influencers) that disseminate incendiary, polarizing, defamatory, or misleading content aimed at shaping public opinion. It is often described as targeting critics of Netanyahu (or his government), including journalists who expose wrongdoing and corruption, opposition politicians, reservist soldiers, and public institutions (e.g., the security establishment).
And now, a prominent figure leading Theodor Herzl’s beloved Parliament of the Jewish people???
That was too much.
This appointment is particularly troubling because it raises concerns about institutional independence, nepotism, politicization of Zionist bodies, and might weaken the pluralistic, democratic character of those institutions. No question, having a seat at the Zionist table means coming to terms with and engaging with others who carry abhorrent views and behave disgracefully.
The coalition agreement is like the constitution of a fragile family reunion: It’s forged in whispers and arguments, ratified by applause and exhaustion, and sealed with the hope that, for the next five years, we can argue together rather than apart.
The delicate agreement remains unsigned. Delegates, in a spirit of patience and perseverance, extended the time for dialogue for two more weeks to reshape and renew the terms of partnership. With faith and persistence, we hope soon to share tidings of resolution and unity.
The Congress is designed to pit ideological camps against one another as we compete for power and purse. It was for this reason that I encouraged this year’s Congress to hold a “Zionist Beit Midrash,” in which the diverse delegate body could sit around a table, respectfully discuss ideas, learn from, and challenge one another. Facilitated by Prof. Gil Troy, this brief hour allowed us to actually listen to one another and truly hear perspectives that we would rarely have the opportunity to encounter.
So the World Zionist Congress endures — part parliament, part pilgrimage, part family reunion — where each delegate adds a brushstroke to the portrait of our people, and where, if we listen closely, we can still hear Herzl whisper:
If you will it, it is still becoming.
Stay tuned for more to come…
Shabbat Shalom.