Israel Advocacy Network Blog - State Zionist Council of Victoria

Day One & Two - 35th World Zionist Congress

At the moment, to use a very non-Jewish analogy, I feel as though I have two new ‘friends’, the white angel and the red devil situated on each of my shoulders. The red devil that sits fiendishly on my right shoulder is constantly in my ear about various grievances regarding the World Zionist Congress. The white angel, who sits so sweetly and innocently on my left shoulder, has encouraging thoughts and beautiful ideas towards a brighter future. The two are in constant opposition to each other, and in turn have been a real source of inner turmoil for me in the past few days.

Instead of going through the proceedings of the Congress in the order in which they happened, I think it would be best to present it as these two polar opposites. I will begin with the red devil.

The World Zionist Congress is built on the inspirational premise of our Zionist forefathers. From the outside, it is about world Jewry coming together to get to the core of issues that are so very important to them. On the inside, the story is a little different, though at the moment I cannot entirely put my finger as to why this is the case.

I think the main element for me that has constantly been on my mind the past few days is that while I thought I was coming here to be a part of a decision making team, in reality, we have very little control over anything. Everyone wants to make changes, everyone has a way of going about these changes, and essentially, everyone in the end, has their hands bound by the system. This is a system whereby people are able to address their complaints but there are very few avenues that they can travel down in order to implement significant changes.

I will give you two very powerful examples, though they are both yet to be resolved.

Ron Finkel and many other people both from the Australian community and internationally have been working on a proposed resolution aimed at renewing the World Zionist Organization so that it can properly function in the 21st Century. In his short speech that he presented in this mornings’ session he spoke of a Zionism that underpins the Jewish peoples’ shared sense of history, language and homeland among many other things. He stressed that in order for this to be effective, we need an organisational structure that facilitates it. To do this, the World Zionist Organization needs leadership, governance, institutions, accountability and transparency.

These ideas create a wonderful structure for which the movement as a whole can move forward and not remain stagnant. I have high hopes that when the Resolutions Committees meet tomorrow, this resolution will be agreed upon and passed through. However, it appears as though this might not happen, and if it does not, it will be to the absolute detriment of the movement.

Another area that I feel personally connected to at the Congress is the issue of the Youth. For the last few days we have had many discussions that have involved the issue of the youth and their role in the Zionist Movement. Time and time again I have heard people talking about the Youth being the key to the future. People have spoken about the way in which the older generation must pass their knowledge onto the younger generation. And just as they do that, the young generation must pass their passion and zest onto the older generation. However, with all this talk about passing on knowledge and enabling for a steady transition in an eventual changing of the guard, there is no Youth representation on the Executive of the World Zionist Organization. Twenty-five percent of the delegates here are Youth – one in four – and yet they are not represented.

The Youth have a lot to learn from the wonderful older generation of Zionists here at the Congress. They simply need to be given the opportunity and the forum in which to do so. They need to be a part of the decision-making, or at least be there to understand why certain decisions have been reached. We need this so that in twenty years time there is no basis for anyone to turn around and say that the Zionist movement lacks the leadership it once had. The Youth are not the leaders of tomorrow, they are leaders here and now.

The final ‘red devil’ moment seems to lie in the content of many of the speeches at this Congress. Or perhaps I should say, the lack of content and substance. We’ve heard from many different people, and they all seem to be making sweeping statements about the Congress, about Israel, Judaism and Zionism. They talk a lot but they say very little. They are presenting very mediocre speeches to a crowd of people that simply deserve more.

Nevertheless, the little white angel sits patiently while I vent my frustrations. The little white angel steps in, and suddenly, becomes the voice of reason, and in the end, realises that there are a lot more positives coming out of this Congress personally for me than negatives. I am reminded that there really is a flipside to all of my negatives.

For example, among all of the mediocre speeches came the amazing and articulate gem in the form of Education Minister Professor Yuli Tamir. She spoke about education and language, Israeli culture and Israeli history. She spoke about the Israeli code, which can be understood through increased Aliya. Her words were layered with substance and this was evident by the prolonged applause at the end of her speech by a crowd that was yearning for the kind of material that she was presenting to us. She was followed by three equally competent and motivating speakers. Once again, I must gather my thoughts before I fully report on it.

On the matter of the Youth, both in the Labour/Meretz block and through the other Youth Leaders including our own AUJS representatives, I can see that the Youth will not let their issues be swept on the carpet. They have stood up and demanded that our voices are heard and that we are acknowledged as an important part of the Congress and of the Zionist Movement. Symbolically, the Hagshama Department created t-shirts that simply stated, ‘I am also a Zionist leader.’ I am not sure if their message got across, but it is a start. In practical terms, they are coming up with ideas to ensure that we are heard loud and clear.

Finally, if the Congress has taught me anything so far, it has taught me how strong the Zionist establishments are in Australia. In a regional meeting earlier today I realised that the Zionist Federation of Australia along with the State Zionist Council really do nurture all that is so important to Zionism. They do this through Young Leadership, through Advocacy, through an extremely strong connection and cooperation with the Youth Movements, AUJS and Hagshama and through so much more. It is for these elements that I am so proud to be part of such a thriving Zionist Community. We have created a model that we should be very proud of.

As the Congress continues on, I have been forced to look internally at my own attitude to Zionism and what it really means to me to be a Zionist. One thing is for sure, I must improve my Hebrew. I used to feel as though I understood fluently but did not want to speak for fear of making mistakes and being laughed at. Now I realise that not only is my understanding of Hebrew anywhere near good enough on this level, but that I will never improve if I do not practice and get rid of the insecurities that inhibit my progress. If I ever attend a World Zionist Congress again, I will be sure that by that time, my Hebrew is at point where I can fully function in that language – because after 5 days of being in Jerusalem, I realise just how important it is to me.

I have also thought about the Aliya aspect of Zionism – the little white angel encouraging me to think seriously about all of the Zionists before me who have packed up their lives in search of the dream in Israel. I hope my parents are not reading this part – it is for this reason and others that I will not expand on the Aliya issue for now!!!

And so, the little white angel prevails, and the little red devil vanishes defeated into the air, at least until tomorrow.