Masorti Olami

We have just completed 10 busy days at meetings of the Zionist General Council (ZGC) of the World Zionist Organization (WZO), Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael (KKL), the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) Assembly and its Board of Governors. As members of MERCAZ Olami and Masorti Olami we gathered from Israel, North and South America and Europe. We spent time with one another reviewing what is happening in each country and planning for the future. It was good to see everyone in Jerusalem as we worked together on behalf of the worldwide Conservative / Masorti Movement – and, no less importantly, the good of the WZO, JAFI and the Jewish people.

There were many issues on our agenda including governance of JAFI, the financial independence of the WZO from JAFI, budget restrictions in all the organizations, land issues in KKL, the filling of the position of chairman of the executive of JAFI and new coalition agreements taking into account the results of the recent elections for the Knesset in Israel.

Throughout these meetings, we worked together with our faction partners, Kadima and Noar HaZioni. We met together in small groups and large groups as well and had a very productive meeting with Tzipi Livni, the head of the Kadima party and the opposition.
Some highlights:

• * It was decided that the next Zionist Congress will be held in June 2010.
• At our initiative, the ZGC also decided that it will be up to each country to determine how its delegation to the Congress will be selected. The issues are complicated but it will be possible for each Zionist Federation outside of Israel to decide whether to go to elections, freeze the representation from the last Congress or make some other arrangements for Zionist representation. For those directly involved in these matters, please note that all this will be clarified in a comprehensive memo that will be issued shortly by the Department for Zionist Activities.
• * New rules regarding governance and the selection of chairs of the WZO and JAFI were discussed at length and eventually approved by the JAFI Assembly.
• In keeping with these procedures, Natan Sharansky was elected as the new chairman of the JAFI executive, but not as chair of the WZO, a radical departure from years past when both positions were filled by the same person. While Kadima is now entitled to nominate a candidate for WZO Chair, it has decided not to for the time being, pending the outcome of ongoing coalition negotiations. That may change in the next several weeks, though it is also possible that the WZO will remain without a Chair until the next Zionist Congress in June 2010.
• * Budgets continue to be a problem in all the organizations and major cuts had to be taken in the JAFI budget which will greatly impact the programs of the organization. It is really a shame, for the work that is being done in the field is truly remarkable.
• There was a major battle in KKL concerning a land swap with the government of Israel that involved both a deep ideological issue (whether land that was bought in the name of the Jewish people could be privatized) as well as a question as to whether or not the proposed deal was in KKL's interest. Passions ran high on both sides of both matters, and Prime Minister Netanyahu even showed up in person to advocate in favor of the deal. The hotly disputed and very close vote is being contested on technical matters, with the results currently being reviewed by the courts.
• * Of the 29 resolutions adopted by the ZGC, more than half were submitted by our Faction.  Details appear in the addendum to this letter: Resolutions of the ZGC, June 2009

Overall we were very pleased to show the strength and the unity of our large delegation and we were clearly noticed often in the deliberations. At the same time, our coalition agreement with Kadima remains strong and we are thankful for their support on behalf of our principles.

We continue to believe that each of these organizations of the National Institutions has an important contribution to continue to make to Zionism, the State of Israel and the Jewish people even as there may be difficult challenges ahead for all. There is also no doubt in our mind that being part of the larger MERCAZ/Masorti delegation from around the world gave us much encouragement to continue our work as we return to our individual communities.

Kol Tuv,

Vernon Kurtz                                                       Dr. David Breakstone  
President, MERCAZ Olami                                  Sr. VP MERCAZ Olami / Masorti Olami   

Rabbi Tzvi Graetz
Exec. Dir., MERCAZ Olami / Masorti Olami