The 39th World Zionist Congress took place in Jerusalem from October 28-30 2025. Thanks to all of you who supported MERCAZ-Canada in the Canadian Zionist Federation elections, we were able to send a delegation of 3 delegates and 8 alternates and observers from Canada. The work that we did at the Congress will affect the Jewish world for years to come.
The first World Zionist Congress was convened by Theodore Herzl in 1897 in Basel Switzerland. Congresses are now held every five years in Jerusalem. Anyone who wants to run to be elected to be a delegate at the congress, or to vote for delegates, must agree to the Jerusalem program, which is the official platform of the WZO and the Zionist Movement. It is a basic acceptance of Zionism.
The MERCAZ-Canada Delegation met with MERCAZ delegations from 16 countries from around the world for 2 days prior to the Congress. Countries as diverse as Sweden and Uganda were represented! It was inspirational to spend this time together and get to know each other. I was struck by how similar our values were despite our geographic differences.
We had the opportunity to visit the brand-new Knesset Museum and to daven together at the Egalitarian Kotel. We were hosted for a dinner at the Ministry of Foreign affairs, where we honoured our retiring co-presidents, Emily Levy-Shochat and Rabbi Alan Silverstein.
The World Zionist Congress is frequently called the Parliament of the Jewish People. When we first arrived at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, you could really feel why this is. There were Jewish people of all levels of observation, from across the political spectrum and from all over the world, speaking many languages. We all came together to discuss ideas, debate resolutions and of course, argue. This is probably the only time that Jews from all over the world and from Israel gather to discuss issues that are important to all of us.
We were treated to interesting panels with speakers on topics such as Progressivism and Anti-Semitism and Zionism on social media. In the evening at the opening ceremony, President Herzog addressed the Congress speaking about being proud to be a Zionist. The evening closed with Yuval Raphael wowing the crowd with New Day Will Rise and then leading us all in singing Hatikvah! I could not have felt prouder of my Zionism than I did that evening!
At the Congress committees and final plenary, MERCAZ put forward and passed resolutions on some of the most pressing issues facing Israel and the Jewish people. We passed a resolution calling for a State Commission of Inquiry into the events of October 7th. We passed a resolution calling for equal treatment and infrastructure at the Egalitarian Kotel. A resolution for an Equitable draft system that includes the Haredi passed with wide support. We also supported other pluralistic factions to get resolutions passed that they had put forward.
I was honoured to be appointed to the Va’ad HaPoel, the working group of the World Zionist Organization. We meet regularly between the congresses to make sure that the resolutions are honoured and that the work of the WZO is able to continue with proportional representation from all factions.
At the end of the voting, we were expecting to vote on the Coalition agreement, which lays out the leadership of the WZO, Karen Kayemet L’Yisrael (JNF), and the Jewish Agency for Israel. This agreement is worked out between all the factions and generally reflects the proportions of the delegates as voted by each country. At the time we were expecting to vote on the agreement, everything fell apart as the Likud party insisted on appointing Yair Netanyahu, the controversial son of Prime Minister Netanyahu to a key position. This was not acceptable to any of the other factions and led to the dissolution of the agreement. At this point, as voting was finalized on all other resolutions, and many people had flights to catch, we voted to extend the Congress electronically for 2 weeks, to allow for the creation of a new agreement. Even after the 2 weeks had passed, there was no agreement that was reached and ready to vote on. An agreement was reached for most of the positions a couple of weeks later and the Va’ad Ha’Poel met to vote on that agreement.
We were scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but early in the week, we heard of a planned protest by Haredi men who are against the proposed draft bill of Haredim. This protest took place on Thursday, October 30th, our planned last day. They were calling it the Million Man march. All the scheduling for the congress had to be compressed so that we could all get out of Jerusalem and to any scheduled flights or other meetings before all busses and trains shut down for safety reasons during the protest. As we left Jerusalem early Thursday morning, we could see dozens of black clad men coming into the city. Photos and videos of the trains station are impressive to see the crowds of people all swarming into the city. I am glad that I was able to get to Tel Aviv before it got too crazy! Sadly, one young Haredi man died during the protest.
After the Congress, I had the honour to speak at a hearing of the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee on Masorti and Reform communities’ strong bonds with Israel. We are grateful to MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv for convening this important gathering.
I am so thankful for the support from all of you, who took the time to vote MERCAZ- Canada and made it possible for me and our delegation to represent you at this important event. I look forward to continuing to represent you through my work on the Va’ad Ha’Poel and working together for an even stronger delegation in 5 years.
