| Reflections from the World Zionist Congress: Israel at a Crossroads
Friends,
I want to begin by thanking our community for entrusting me with the privilege of representing us at the World Zionist Congress. Standing among hundreds of representatives from Jewish communities around the globe — debating the future of our people with passion and purpose — I felt strongly that I was not there alone. I was there carrying all of us.
Our tradition teaches that history is shaped not only by the loudest voices but by those who show up with courage, conscience, and commitment. Pirkei Avot ( the stories of the sages ) reminds us:
“In a place where there are no leaders, strive to be a leader.”
This is exactly what we did together through ARZA.
Many people ask: What exactly is the World Zionist Congress — and why does it matter?
The World Zionist Congress is the democratic parliament of the Jewish people worldwide. It was first convened in 1897 by Theodor Herzl in Basel, launching the modern Zionist movement. That first Congress did not create Israel overnight — but it laid the political and moral foundation for what would become the Jewish state fifty years later.
Remarkably, the Congress never ended.
Today it still meets every five years, bringing together delegates elected by Jewish communities from around the world — representing diverse religious, cultural, and political streams of Zionism. Every ballot our communities cast helps determine who sits in that chamber. And what does it actually do?
The Congress shapes the policies and priorities of the major Zionist institutions —stewarding hundreds of millions of dollars that support Jewish education, aliyah, community security, social welfare, pluralistic religious life, civil society, and more in Israel and across the Diaspora. It appoints leadership to key national bodies and passes resolutions that help guide the moral direction of Zionism itself.
In other words: This is where our Jewish values become real-world action.The Congress is not just another meeting. It is our global Jewish forum, where decisions are made that influence how Zionism is expressed, how Israel relates to the Diaspora, and how Jewish values are translated into public policy. Every seat matters. Every coalition matters. And every community that votes matters.
This year, our collective voice mattered in a profoundly real way. Before I speak about specific resolutions, I want to share a personal insight. Many years ago, when I was a university tutor teaching media law, one lesson became permanently lodged in my own life: always read widely — especially sources that challenge your assumptions. Since then, I have made a habit of engaging with media from across the political and cultural spectrum.
Watching the diversity and polarity of Israeli news outlets today reminded me of a story: An elderly Jewish man is seen reading an Arab newspaper. His friend asks him, puzzled, “Why are you reading that?” The man answers:
“In the Jewish papers, we’re persecuted, cancelled, hated. Here, we own the press and rule the world.”
It’s a humorous story — but also a wise one. It reminds us that the narratives we choose to consume shape the reality we believe in —and that none of us holds the whole truth alone.
Zionism, like Judaism itself, demands that we live with contradiction, complexity, and multiple narratives. And the Congress — for all its debates and disagreements — embodies that very principle: a marketplace of Jewish voices, all struggling together over what our shared future should be.Standing for Truth and Accountability
Following the devastating events of October 7th, together with ARZA we called for the establishment of a State Commission of Inquiry — not to assign blame for its own sake, but to pursue truth, responsibility, and healing.
Our tradition insists that justice begins with honest reckoning. Without accountability, wounds do not heal. Without truth, trust cannot be rebuilt. In advocating for an inquiry, we stood up for Israeli democracy itself — for the belief that loving Israel means holding it to the highest standards of integrity.
Repairing Sacred Space
We fought for something deeply symbolic: full, dignified public access to the egalitarian section of the Kotel.
The Kotel belongs to every Jew — women and men, Orthodox and Reform, Conservative and secular, Israelis and Diaspora Jews alike. By standing for pluralistic prayer and equal access, we affirmed a powerful truth: Judaism has many authentic expressions, and every one deserves respect at the heart of our most sacred site.
Lifting Women’s Leadership
Another major victory was the advancement of women’s leadership in Israel and throughout the Diaspora.
In a Jewish future worthy of our Torah values, women are not guests at the table — they are essential architects of policy, education, and community life. This does not just empower women — it strengthens our entire people.
A Zionism that sidelines voices becomes smaller, weaker, and less inspiring.
A Zionism that includes women fully becomes truer to our values and stronger in action.
Choosing a Responsible Zionism
Together, we took principled stances on Israel’s security and moral future:
• We opposed reckless settlement policies and rejected WZO support for settlement activity in Gaza, recognizing that some actions threaten both Israel’s democracy and prospects for peace.
• We affirmed the need for an equitable draft system, rooted in the principle that responsibility must be fairly shared.
• We engaged deeply — even when debates were difficult — on questions of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, insisting that such discussions remain guided by Israel’s security needs, democratic character, and Jewish ethics.
These were not easy choices. But loving Israel does not mean avoiding complexity. It means engaging with it honestly and bravely.
What We Proposed — And What We Passed
Working through ARZA’s leadership and coalition-building, we helped pass resolutions that included:
• Increased security for liberal Jewish communities in Israel, ensuring pluralistic congregations receive equal protection and recognition.
• A requirement that all national institution appointees affirm the Jerusalem Program, strengthening foundational Zionist commitments.
• Transparency in equal-opportunity budgeting, ensuring fairness and accountability within Zionist institutions.
• Investment in youth movements and informal education in the Diaspora, ensuring that the next generation grows up connected to Israel not only through headlines, but through identity, values, and love.Working Together Across the Spectrum
Perhaps the most important achievement was how this work happened.
We built alliances across ideology, denomination, and politics — not because we agree on everything, but because we believe the Jewish people’s future depends on working together.
Through these coalitions, we passed resolutions to:
• Support Hebrew education worldwide.
• Embrace the diversity of Zionist expression.
• Strengthen Israeli civil society and community resilience, especially efforts combating violence and rebuilding trust.
• Expand support for Holocaust survivors, fulfilling our sacred obligations.
• Address antisemitism in the Diaspora, ensuring no Jewish community stands alone.
These were not symbolic votes. They created real programs, real funding, and real impact in schools, synagogues, social-service organizations, and community centers across Israel and the Jewish world.
This Is Why We Voted
When we supported ARZA, we were not casting a symbolic ballot or making a quiet statement.
We voted for:
• Pluralism at the Kotel.
• Security for all Jewish communities.
• Women at the leadership table.
• Accountability after October 7th.
• Jewish education for our children.
• Dignity for Holocaust survivors.
• A Zionism broad enough to embrace every one of us.
We voted for a Judaism proud of its traditions and brave about its future.Democracy, Unity, and Vayishlach
All of this work matters even more because Israel today is struggling to preserve something profoundly precious: its identity as a Jewish and democratic state. In a time of war, fear, and internal anger, the temptation is always to sacrifice democratic norms in the name of strength or security. But Jewish history teaches us the opposite — our strength has always come not from silencing voices, but from protecting them.
A liberal democracy is not merely a political system; it is an expression of Jewish dignity itself — safeguarding minority rights, the rule of law, freedom of conscience, and equal worth for every citizen as reflected in Israel Declaration of Independence. When we defend pluralism at the Kotel, demand accountability through a Commission of Inquiry, promote women’s leadership, and insist on fairness and transparency, we are doing more than passing resolutions.
We are actively defending the democratic soul of Israel. Because a Jewish state that ceases to be democratic risks losing not only its values, but also its moral legitimacy in the eyes of our people and the world.
Unity Through Difference — Lessons of Vayishlach
Our divisions — within Israeli society and between Israel and the Diaspora — echo through our tradition. In Parashat Vayishlach, Yaakov finally confronts Esav after years of estrangement, fear, and misunderstanding. Yaakov approaches trembling, expecting hatred — but instead encounters an embrace. The Torah does not pretend their differences disappear; the tension remains. Yet reconciliation becomes possible when each brother sees the other not as an enemy, but as family. That moment speaks directly to us today.
Unity does not mean uniformity. It means refusing to give up on one another even when our views diverge sharply. It applies to religious and secular Israelis, left and right, center and periphery — and it applies just as deeply to the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
Like Yaakov and Esav, we may argue fiercely, fear misunderstanding, or feel distant — but our destiny remains intertwined. The work we do through ARZA, building coalitions across differences and nurturing bonds between Israel and the Jewish world, is modern Vayishlach — choosing relationship over rupture, covenant over conflict, and shared future over separation.Our sages taught:
Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor vein ata ben horin lehipater mimenah — you are not required to finish the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
What we achieved is not the end of the story — it is a significant chapter that exists because we chose to be engaged, to be counted, and to be responsible for each other.
Friends, our participation mattered. Our communal voice mattered.
Because of our engagement, Reform Zionism is not standing on the sidelines — we are shaping thefuture of the Jewish people.
Ayal Marek
President ARZA Australia |
