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Email this pageProgressive movement and its allies make key gains at Zionist congress
The worldwide Progressive Jewish movement made a strong showing at the 36th Zionist Congress, held June 15-17 in Jerusalem. Of the approximately 750 delegates – two-thirds of whom represented Jewish communities around the world, and the rest an international array of Jewish organizations – Progressive Judaism, through its various arms, including the World Union, sent some 120 representatives who, united under the banner of ARZENU, the international federation of Reform and Progressive religious Zionists, comprised the congress’s largest faction.
The ARZENU/World Union delegation consisted of Progressive, Reform and Liberal Jews from 14 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The World Union contingent was led by its chairman, Steve Bauman; its senior vice chairman, Michael Grabiner; and one of its vice chairmen, Dr. Philip Bliss. It also included young adults from Argentina, Brazil and the FSU led by Maoz Haviv, director of Netzer Olami. The ARZENU contingent was led by its chairwoman, Joan Garson, and included top leaders from major Progressive Zionist organizations around the world, including Ian Samuel, chairman of ARZA/Australia; Les Rothschild, president ARZA/Canada; Rabbi Robert J. Orkand, president ARZA/US; Rabbi Danny Allen; Peter Weidhorn, chairman of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Board of Trustees; Rabbi Daniel Freelander, senior vice president of the URJ; Rabbi Elliott A. Kleinman, director of the URJ’s Advancing Reform Judaism; Yaron Shavit, incoming chairman of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism; Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive director IMPJ.
The Zionist Congress is the quadrennial conference that elects the officers and sets the policies of the World Zionist Organization. As a member of the WZO in partnership with ARZENU, the World Union sits as an equal at the same table with all streams of Judaism, Israeli Zionist political parties and international Jewish organizations. Its involvement gives it both credibility and impact on the burning issues facing the Jewish people, including on matters of religion and state. The World Union receives support for its international youth and young adult movements, Netzer Olami and TaMaR, and benefits from allocations that provide religious services for its Diaspora constituents in the form of seminars, educational programs, conferences and more. As its support for the Israeli Progressive movement is unequivocal, this translates into funding and programming assistance for the IMPJ as well. This reciprocal relationship – connecting Israel to the Diaspora and the Diaspora to Israel – is the essence of the World Union’s Zionist commitment.
The 36th Zionist Congress helped mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Herzl, the great Zionist visionary. Among the keynote speakers at the opening gala was Israeli President Shimon Peres, who spoke of Herzl, his dream, and the work that remains to be done. Another speaker was Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who told delegates of the need to keep the host city a major hub of the Zionist project. Following the opening celebrations, the congress turned to a wide variety of issues that are central to Zionism and its continued success. Among them were religious pluralism and the acceptance and funding in Israel of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism.
After maintaining its numerical strength despite the cancellation of elections to the 36th Congress on a one-time basis – which resulted in savings for the movement as well as for the WZO – the ARZENU/World Union faction went on to ensure that its views and concerns were given legitimacy and weight. The Israeli political parties in the faction, Labor and Meretz (the former being a members of the country’s governing coalition), committed themselves to an agenda of pluralism.
Led by the ARZENU/World Union faction, there was overwhelming opposition to changes that have been proposed for Israel’s conversion law, which, in their current iteration, would weaken the Law of Return as well as the rights of non-Orthodox streams in regard to the conversion process. There was also a call for the immediate implementation of equal funding by the World Zionist Organization for the activities of all Jewish streams outside Israel.
ARZENU/World Union and its faction partners succeeded in passing the major resolutions they supported and in defeating all those resolutions that attempted to attack pluralism and other Progressive core values. They strengthened the role of women in future congresses and strongly asserted the negative impact of settlement expansion. ARZENU itself sponsored eight resolutions; two addressed state policies toward non-Orthodox streams in Israel (including the status of these streams and pending legislation on conversions); one focused on freedom of religion and conscience, and the promotion of religious and cultural pluralism in Israel; and the rest dealt with procedural issues that will ensure strong Progressive Jewish representation within the WZO and its associated bodies.
The ARZENU/World Union faction’s presence was strongly felt and acknowledged by all congress participants, thanks in no small part to its extremely active and engaged delegates and alternates, as well as to the leadership roles assumed by its youth representatives, who came from Latin America, the former Soviet Union, Australia and Europe.
The alliance with Labor and Meretz at the congress has already been translated into support in the Knesset for Progressive Judaism’s position regarding the conversion bill. However, Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, who is Israel’s current defense minister, committed to strengthening the Progressive Jewish movement’s role in the quasi-governmental sector by filling positions with candidates it selects.
ARZENU/World Union held key leadership positions within the congress. Among others, Philip Meltzer (ARZA/US) chaired the congress presidium; Yaron Shavit the incoming chairman of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, chaired its standing committee; Dr. Phillip Bliss served on the congress presidium; and Steve Bauman served as vice chair of the congress’s Zionism and Diaspora committee.
The Progressive movement now holds the co-chair position in the WZO’s Diaspora Department, enabling direct input for Zionist activities around the world. It also holds a top position in the Jewish National Fund that gives it control over land issues and related funding. The World Union’s representative to the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel will be Michael Grabiner. World union vice president for operations and chief operating officer Shai Pinto will be its representative on the WZO’s Zionist Executive, and Tamara Schagas will be its representative on the WZO Outer Executive. A complete list of all roles filled by movement members will be circulated when the remaining details are finalized.
The process of reforming the WZO was continued. The Progressive movement’s negotiating team ensured that extensive checks and balances will be implemented, particularly with regard to financial matters, and the movement will be chairing an empowered budget and finance committee. The role of Diaspora representatives in the WZO was also expanded through an agreement to provide translations and participation in key committees throughout the year. This will enable Progressive Jews and their allies to play a larger ongoing role and help to ensure the WZO is more open to Diaspora input.
“We went back to our home countries with a renewed sense of purpose, not least because of the effective partnership with our Israeli team members, led by Yaron Shavit, the new IMPJ chair, and Rabbi Gilad Kariv, its executive director,” says ARZENU chairwoman Joan Garson, who is also a member of the World Union’s Executive Board. “But any mention of what the Progressive movement achieved at the World Zionist Congress, as well as in the Assembly and in the Jewish Agency Board of Governors meetings, truly must include a heartfelt thanks to its delegates. The ARZENU/World Union members were extremely committed, hard-working, enthusiastic and engaged. They – led in many cases by the young delegates – kept abreast of what were sometimes chaotic situations, led their subcommittees, built partnerships with representatives of other organizations, thought deeply about what they were there to achieve, and succeeded in their mission.”
Photos from the 36th Zionist Congress in Jerusalem. Left to right, from top: A pre-congress briefing on the patio at Mercaz Shimshon-Beit Shmuel; chairman Steve Bauman greets World Union delegates; Honorary Life President Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch is honored for work at the top echelons of the WZO on behalf of the Progressive Movement; Israeli President Shimon Peres shares a laugh with Progressive delegates; delegate Jocelyn Roebuck exercises her voting rights; Progressive delegates during a vote; delegates take some time out from Zionist business. (Photos: Darryl Egnal)
