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The World Zionist Organization (Hebrew: הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit), or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the First World Zionist Congress, which took place in August 1897 in Basel, Switzerland. When it was founded, the goals of the Zionist movement were stated in a resolution that came of that Congress and came to be known as the “Basel Program.”
Contents
- History
- Membership and delegations
- Presidents of World Zionist Organization
- Chairs of the Executive of World Zionist Organization andor the Jewish Agency for Israel
- Sister organizations
- World Zionist Congress
- Jerusalem Program
- Herzl Award
- Settlement controversy
- References
"Zionism aims at establishing for the Jewish people a legally assured home in Palestine. For the attainment of this purpose, the Congress considers the following means serviceable:
The WZO currently consists of the following bodies: The World Zionist Unions, international Zionist federations; and international organizations that define themselves as Zionist, such as WIZO, Hadassah, B'nai B'rith, Maccabi, the International Sephardic Federation, the three streams of world Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform), delegation from the CIS – Commonwealth of Independent States (some states of the former Soviet Union), the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS), and more.
The Jewish Agency is a parallel organisation, with goals, attributes and leadership closely intertwined with those of the Zionist Organization during the years before the establishment of the State of Israel, and to varying degrees after that. Significant changes to the statutes of both organisations occurred in 1952, 1970 and 1979.
History
Founded as the Zionist Organization (Hebrew: הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית; HaHistadrut HaTsionit), or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland. The ZO's journal, Die Welt was founded in the same year. It changed its name to World Zionist Organization in January 1960.
The ZO served as an umbrella organization for the Zionist movement, whose objective was the creation of a Jewish homeland in Canaan - at that time under the Ottoman Empire and following the First World War The British Mandate of Palestine. When the State of Israel was declared 51 years later on May 14, 1948, many of its new administrative institutions were already in place, having evolved during the regular Zionist Congresses of the previous decades. Some of these institutions remain to this day.
Membership and delegations
Membership in the ZO was open to all Jews, and the right to vote for delegates to the congresses was secured by the purchase of the Zionist Shekel. Delegations from all around the world, and from many different political backgrounds and religious traditions, took part in each Congress; delegations/parties were mainly grouped by ideology, rather than by geography.
In 1960 the ZO changed its name to the World Zionist Organization and adopted a new constitution under which individuals are ineligible for membership, which is reserved for organizations.
Presidents of (World) Zionist Organization
Chairs of the Executive of World Zionist Organization and/or the Jewish Agency for Israel
In 2009, the positions were separated again. Natan Sharansky was elected as the head of the Jewish Agency and Avraham Duvdevani was elected as the new Chairman of the WZO at the 36th Zionist Congress, on 15 June 2010.
Sister organizations
The finances of the WZO were conducted by the Jewish Colonial Trust (founded in 1899), and acquisition of land was conducted by the Jewish National Fund (founded in 1901).Keren Hayesod (founded 1920) funded Zionist and Yishuv activities prior to the creation of the state of Israel through enterprises such as the Palestine Electric Company, the Palestine Potash Company and the Anglo-Palestine Bank.
World Zionist Congress
The World Zionist Congress established by Theodor Herzl, is the supreme organ of the World Zionist Organization and its legislative authority. It elects the officers and decides on the policies of the WZO and the Jewish Agency. The first World Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897.
Jerusalem Program
The platform of the WZO is the Jerusalem Program. The Zionist Council, meeting in Jerusalem in June 2004, adopted this text as the latest version.
Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, brought about the establishment of the State of Israel, and views a Jewish, Zionist, democratic and secure State of Israel to be the expression of the common responsibility of the Jewish people for its continuity and future.
The foundations of Zionism are:
Herzl Award
Since 2004, Department for Zionist Activities of the World Zionist Organization bestows the Herzl Award annually upon outstanding young men and women in recognition of their exceptional volunteer efforts on behalf of Israel and the Zionist cause.
Settlement controversy
A document, which was brought before Israel's Supreme Court, showed that private Palestinian land was taken and given to Israeli settlers by the World Zionist Organization. The land in question had been ruled off-limits by Israel. The World Zionist Organization had been acting as an agent of the government in assigning land to Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied territories. The Israeli government, to avoid responsibilities under international law, used the World Zionist Organization to settle its citizens in the territory occupied in 1967. The document concerns several homes in the Israeli settlement of Ofra, approximately 15 miles north of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The Israeli Justice Ministry confirmed that the land in question was owned by Palestinians and that the nine houses in question had been ordered demolished. Dror Etkes of Yesh Din said "It's an international organization that is, simply put, stealing land."