Observations from the 36th World Zionist Congress Last week I had the honor of playing the role of an observer at the 36th World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem. By virtue of not having a nametag and/or membership at the congress, I was able to roam freely as a non-biased observer and attend all plenary sessions and workshops that didn’t involve regional discussions or voting.
...one of the panelists spoke very clearly when he stated, ...the younger generations are not here. They are invisible. Where are the young activists?
While I usually don’t, per say, ‘enjoy’ these conferences and tend think of them as work-obligations, there are times, as in last week’s case, where I’m pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t claim to be an expert on Jewish conferences. Nor do I know all of the ins and outs of the politics behind each organization that conducts them; however, I do have x-man hours of experience and a high attendance rate throughout my years by virtue and thanks to a) growing up in an active Jewish community in So. Florida b) moving to Israel and c) working in the professional Jewish sector.
Now, back to focus on the WZO and their 36th Zionist Congress. As opposed to a conference like the Presidents’ Conference, which is innovative and forward thinking, unfortunately I feel the Zionist congress has tendencies and history that put it in the more ‘backward thinking’ category of affairs. Not necessarily to its own fault. Despite their mandate of a +/- 30% young delegate ratio, the issue is that these younger 18 to 30-year-olds don’t have a proper platform to make their ideas and opinions heard. Rather, it is their elder, silver haired counterparts that hold a majority of the voice, the seats and the gavels.
A prime example of this occurred during a mini-plenary session I attended on the ‘Globalization of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism.’ Needless to say, it was one of the more depressing panels I’ve witnessed to date. Hence, during the plenary I was attending, one of the panelists spoke very clearly when he stated, “...the younger generations are not here. They are invisible. Where are the young activists?” For better or for worse, this gave me a platform to speak during the audience Q&A session where I addressed the room and the panelists at the microphone as one of the ‘invisible’ younger Jews in our generation. My message was short. While ‘we’ were the vast minority in the hall, the younger Jews do exist, and we are doing our part to speak out, be present and do our best given the resources we have. I, then, challenged the professors. I spoke and asked how they suggest we combine our efforts and use the media to broadcast the truth, our message, and the positives about our people and Israel. Of course, the responses were vague and nobody truly has a good answer to the problem.
In contrast to my experience in the antis-plenary-session, sensing that the topic wouldn’t be uplifting, exciting and/or enlightening, most of my peers and ‘younger’ colleagues opted to attend a parallel session on ‘Zionism and Post-Zionism.’ There, I heard, were heated discussions that manifested into a spontaneous private meeting of ‘youngsters’ trying to determine their purpose, come together as a group, and press for change.
There were not only WZO delegates during this meeting. There were also other observers, like myself, many whom were Israeli activists. It is not surprising that some of the Israelis I spoke with had ideas and messages that, in my opinion, were very important and less hung up on ‘internal politics’ and ‘when to meet’. The Israelis were concerned about the content at these conferences. They were worried about the questions of the privatization of the land of Israel, the relevance of this congress to the Israeli society, and whether Aliyah should still be the main purpose of this congress or not…all of which are valid points and issues.
Nevertheless, I'm pleased to report that the young delegates did manage to draft and pass an amendment at the Congress that calls for a special session, focused on the younger generations, and a change in the program for the 37th Congress of 2014!
In addition, it’s important to mention that shortly after I spoke during my Q&A, many people approached me from the crowd – most not even waiting for the conclusion of the session. Jews from all over the world, telling me they wanted to be involved, how can they help, and lets work together. This is the ticket, ladies and gents – communication. To physically start this conversation and get the word out. To work together. To find ways to combine our efforts and help each other. And of course, to continue provide our future generations a chance to speak up and represent new, fresh ideas that will become the ideas and platforms for the future of our people.
