World Zionist Congress

Zionist participants in the World Zionist Congress are free to form Brit Olamit or Zionist World Unions (ideological groupings), which are somewhat like political parties. While Israeli political parties can participate in the Congress, brits are also organized and voted into the Congress by non-Israelis, making the Congress a multinational deliberative body for the Jewish diaspora. However, as aliyah has brought Jews to Israel from other countries, Israeli representation in the legislature has increased at the expense of non-Israeli Jewish diaspora representation. A Brit Olamit (World Union) must have representation in at least five countries to send a delegation to the Congress.

There are currently six Zionist World Unions (with full voting rights):

• World Zionist Union: Labor Zionist Movement – Arzenu – World Union of Meretz
• United Faction: Kadima–HaNoar HaTzioni– MERCAZ
• World Mizrachi/Ichud Le'umi/Herut/Yisrael Beytenu/Moledet/Tkuma
• World Likud/Shas
• Hadassah/Confederation
• Over The rainbow – the Zionist movement

Since the creation of the State of Israel, there are no elections held for Israeli delegates to the World Zionist Congress. Rather, elections to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, are deemed to fulfill this function, and Zionist parties represented in the Knesset are apportioned a number of Congress delegates proportional to their strength in the Knesset. The late Left Wing leader Shulamit Aloni on several occasions criticized this practice, stating that "Most Israeli citizens neither know nor care that when they go to the polls they are among other things also electing delegates to the World Zionist Congress. (...) Had the Zionist Movement been required to do in Israel what it does in other countries - i.e., recruit paying members and get these members to hold specific elections to the World Zionist Congress - there might have been revealed an embarrassing low number of committed Zionists in Israel".[7]

Two women's organizations have special status in the Zionist Organization and have full voting rights:

• WIZO – is an international, non-party Zionist body, which receives global representation by virtue of an agreement entered into in 1964.
• Hadassah – received special status by virtue of a decision of the Zionist General Council, in 1994.[1]

The international Jewish organizations have also been represented in the Zionist Congress since 1972, provided that they accept the Jerusalem Program,[8] even if not all their members are declared Zionists. These bodies have limited voting rights – they do not vote on matters of candidature and elections to the institutions of the WZO.[1]

The following are the International Jewish Organizations (limited voting rights):

• Bnai Brith International
• Maccabi World Union
• Na'amat
• WIZO Women's International Zionist Organization
• World Council of Conservative Masorti Synagogues
• World Emunah
• World Organization of Orthodox Synagogues & Communities in Israel and the Diaspora
• World Sephardi Federation
• World Union for Progressive Judaism
• World Union of Jewish Students
• Zionist Council in Israel

• In addition to the delegates with full voting rights participating in Congress, there are also participants in an advisory capacity which can participate in debates but have no voting rights. These may consist of office holders such as members of the Zionist Executive, members of the Zionist General Council who were not elected as delegates to Congress, Chairs of the Zionist Federations, judicial office holders - the President of the Zionist Supreme Court, the Attorney, the Comptroller and representatives of the Aliyah Movement.[1]
• Observers with no speaking or voting rights can be invited by the Zionist Executive or the Congress Presidium.

• The First Zionist Congress, held in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland, had Theodor Herzl acting as chairperson. The Congress was attended by some 200 participants who formulated the Zionist platform, known as the "Basel programme", and established the Zionist Organization (ZO). In contrast with the older Hibbat Zion movement, the ZO took a clear stance in favour of political Zionism, stating in its programme that

"Zionism seeks for the Jewish people a publicly recognized legally secured homeland in Palestine."

Herzl wrote in his diary,

"Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word - which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly - it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State."[11]

• The Twenty-third Zionist Congress, held in 1951 in Jerusalem, Israel, was the first to be held after the establishment of the State of Israel, and the first held in Jerusalem, which would become the norm. It was opened at the graveside of Theodor Herzl, whose remains had been moved from Vienna and reburied on the top of a hill in Jerusalem that was renamed after him, Mount Herzl. The Congress issued the "Jerusalem Program", placing its main focus on the newly created state as the central unifying element for the Jewish people.[12]

• Ruth Popkin was the first woman to be Chair of the Presidium and President of the World Zionist Congress, being elected to both positions in 1987.[36]