Delegates to the Zionist Congress elect the leadership of the WZO, including the members of the Zionist General Council, and play a large part in determining who will fill the various offices of the other National Institutions, as well as who will chair committees, serve as directors of different boards, and fill a number of positions as lay leaders.
Below is a partial list of key positions and departments at the World Zionist Organization and the National Institutions, as of the eve of the 38th Zionist Congress:
World Zionist Organization
Chair of the Zionist Executive
The Office of the Chairperson is charged with overall responsibility for the operation and development of the WZO, including the creation of a coordinated work plan implemented through its various departments and units. It is also actively involved in initiating new projects, positioning the WZO to be able to effectively fulfill its objectives, and encouraging Aliya and Hebrew education.
Vice and Acting Chair of the Zionist Executive
The Office of the Vice Chairperson is charged first and foremost with preparing the WZO budget and overseeing its implementation. Additional areas of activity include Israel Advocacy and Zionist Education, development of the Herzl Educational Center, development of a new campus for the Zionist Archives, development of the WZO website, and publications.
The Settlement Division
The Settlement Division of the WZO works as an arm of the Government of Israel in establishing new agricultural settlements in peripheral communities of Israel and in strengthening existing settlements.
The main purpose of the Settlement Division is strengthening the periphery of the State of Israel by establishing agricultural settlements and developing them in every field of life.
The Settlement Division operates in the Negev, Galilee, the Golan, Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley and is budgeted by the State of Israel.
The Diaspora Activities Department
The Diaspora Activities Department is responsible for strengthening the connection between the Jewish World and Israel. The department operates to strengthen the standing of Zionism and the State of Israel to make them an integral part of Jewish identity in the Diaspora by creating zones of opportunity that enable a connection with Israel even within a complex and changing reality. The department provides a broad range of programs to strengthen Jewish peoplehood in the Diaspora, which encourage dialogue and invite familiarity with Israeli culture, create an intelectual and emotional experience and constitute a platform to connect between similar and differing world views, with the intention to emphasize the common denominator - common destiny and connection to the State of Israel. The Diaspora Activities Department operates among communities large and small on five continents through Israeli emissaries and local employees and in cooperation with the Zionist federations and with all streams, movements and organizations in each and every country.
The Department for Israel Activities and Countering Anti-Semitism
The Department for Israel Activities and Countering Anti-Semitism works to position the World Zionist Organization as the leading Zionist organization in Israel through various means such as: putting on events themed around Zionist topics and dates of historical importance, holding the Zionism and Heritage Quiz, organizing Zionist tours of the National Institutions and at heritage sites in Jerusalem and throught Israel.
The department also works to strengthen Jewish-Zionist identity and affinity to the State of Israel among Israel, both in Israel and in the Diaspora.
Furthermore, the department acts to strengthen the World Zionist Organization's operations in the field of advocacy and the struggle against anti-Semitism and to position it as an international umbrella organization fighting manifestations manifestations of hatred against Jews and the State of Israel, and initiating advocacy activities throughout the world to achieve these goals.
The department operates the organization's internet site and is very active on social media networks as a tool to disseminate the activities of the World Zionist Organization in advocacy and in the struggle against anti-Semitism in general, and on the internet in particular.
The Center for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora
The Center for Religious Affairs works to boost Jewish-Zionist identity among Jewish communities in the Diaspora, to strengthen ties with the State of Israel and the Jewish People, and to nurture an affinity for Jewish heritage.
In order to achieve these goals, the Center holds broad and diverse activities among rabbis and Jewish community leaders, with the assistance of the assistance of religious shlichim in different countries: The Center conducts seminars for rabbis around the world and holds an annual international conference in Israel, publishes educational and study materials, sends "Ben Ami" religious guidance emissaries on year-of-service programs to Jewish communities and for the major Jewish holidays, and initiates many other activities.
The Department of Education
The Department of Education works to further Jewish-Zionist education and to nurture the Hebrew-language in Israel and in the Diaspora.
The department works to position the World Zionist Organization as the leading Zionist educational organization in the world, to empower Jewish-Zionist identity and to strengthen ties to the State of Israel. These goals are attained through disseminating the Hebrew language, dispatching teaching emissaries, developing educational programs, providing professional training to teachers and educators in the Diaspora, and more. The departments seeks to coperate with the government of Israel to promote and run Zionist educational and cultural projects, both in the formal and informal educational systems.
The Department for the Promotion of Aliyah
The Department for the Promotion of Aliyah reaches out to Jewish communities in the Diaspora to present to them options for Aliyah and to encourage potential immigrants to make the move to Israel.
The department initiates and promotes ventures that encourage and support the process of Aliyah, such as Aliyah fairs and Hebrew immersion courses around the world.
The department works closely with the Ministry of Immigration and Integration through the National Aliyah Promotion Company - "Ofek Yisraeli."
The Department of Zionist Enterprises
The Department of Zionist Enterprises works for the preservation and strengthening of Zionist and Jewish ethics by assimilating the values of tikkun olam and social justice in the spirit of Herzl's exemplary society. The department's "creed" is that social action for the benefit of all citizens of Israel and for every human being is a central component of Zionism.
The Department of Zionist Enterprises is responsible for several institutions and auxiliary units, and also runs a number of social and Zionist projects aimed at advancing the idea of an exemplary society.
Chair and Members of the Zionist General Council
The Zionist General Council is the supreme institution of the Zionist movement in the inter-Congress period. The Zionist General Council has all powers of the Congress, with the exception of those expressly reserved for the Congress. The Zionist General Council debates and outlines the policy of the World Zionist Organization on issues on the agenda of the Jewish People, through a dialogue with representatives of Israeli society and of Jewish communities throughout the world. In addition, the Zionist General Council inspects and, in so far as necessary, decides upon the manner in which the Executive will implement the decisions of the Congress and the Council.
Chair of the American Section of the World Zionist Organization
The American Section coordinates and looks after the interests of the World Zionist Organization in the United States. Chair of the Directorate of the Central Zionist Archives The main objectives of the Central Zionist Archives are to collect documentation, to preserve, to expose and to make accessible to the public the archival material of the Zionist Movement. The Central Zionist Archives functions as the historic archives of the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, the United Israel Appeal and the World Jewish Congress.
Congress Presidium
The Presidium of the Zionist Congress oversees the conduct of the Congress. The Congress Presidium has several special privileges such as the right to invite individuals or organizations whose presence is deemed desirable to the Congress (without voting or speaking rights). The Presidium is elected by the delegates to the Zionist Congress at the opening session.
President of the Zionist Supreme Court
The President of the Zionist Supreme Court is elected by the delegates to the Zionist Congress and delivers a report at the Congress’ opening session regarding the results of elections to the Congress. The President of the Zionist Supreme Court is also responsible for appointing the Chair and members of the Central Elections Committee, the body that administers the compliance of all elections taking place in the Diaspora with democratic principles.
The Comptroller of the World Zionist Organization
The Comptroller of the World Zionist Organization is elected by the delegates to the Zionist Congress based on the recommendations of the Standing Committee. Delegates to the Zionist Congress receive the Comptroller's report and take decision based upon the report.
Attorney of the World Zionist Organization
The Attorney of the World Zionist Organization is elected by the delegates to the Zionist Congress.
The role of the attorney is defined in the World Zionist Organization constitution as follows: "The Attorney shall represent the interests of the World Zionist Organization... before the Court, and shall advise the Central Zionist Bodies in legal matters connected with this Constitution, the decisions of the Congress, the Council and the Executive, and with the relations between the Central Zionist Bodies and between them and other Zionist Bodies or individual Zionists."
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael
World Chair of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Deputy Chairman
Vice Chairman of Keren Kayemth LeIsrael
Jewish Agency
Chair of the Jewish Agency
Vice Chair of the Jewish Agency
Keren Hayesod
Chair of Keren Hayesod
