John,

I'm writing to you as I'm preparing to leave Israel after a whirlwind week at the World Zionist Congress – where our progressive coalition delivered successes we did not think possible a week ago! 

Let me walk you through some of the big ones:

(1) We passed a resolution ensuring that no WZO resources could be spent to build new settlements in Gaza. (See my video explaining this win.)

(2) We expect to pass a resolution that would bar WZO resources from being spent for settlement activity in E1 in the West Bank. (While a majority voted for this resolution, there is a question about quorum that has yet to be resolved). 

(3) We passed a resolution that would counteract proposed Knesset legislation to defund progressive civil society organizations in Israel. (More on this win in this Haaretz article.) 

(4) We passed resolutions that invest in women's leadership, that offer security to Reform and Conservative congregations in Israel (some of whom have been attacked by Jewish fundamentalists), and that promote greater egalitarian access to the Kotel.

(5) We ensured that Itamar Ben-Gvir's party would not be allowed to appoint any department heads to the WZO. Had they done so, they could have used those roles for subversive purposes. (Here’s a report on this from the Jerusalem Post.)

The secret to our success was the coalition that NJN built. We helped lead the Hatikvah slate, and we provided opportunities for our allies – including leaders from J Street, T'ruah, Partners for Progressive Israel, and the Reconstructionist movement – to help drive our agenda forward.  

While the Congress is done, our work is not. NJN board members – notably including Nomi Colton-Max and Ken Bob – will continue to be involved at high levels to ensure that the progressive agenda that we helped pass will be implemented.

I’m proud to have worked with leaders across our movement throughout this week. I’ll leave Israel feeling galvanized and hopeful because of all we achieved. Thank you for your involvement in NJN. You helped to make these wins possible!

Maxxe Albert-Deitch 
Director of Programs