The “depoliticizing” of the organized Zionist movement by the forthcoming 29th World Zionist Congress, in terms of severing existing alignments with political parties in Israel, was predicted here by Kalman Sultanik, executive vice-president of the World Confederation of United Zionists, the international body of all non-party Zionist organizations. Sultanik, a member of the World Zionist Executive, spoke Thursday night at a meeting of the United Zionists of Canada in preparation for the election of delegates to the Congress which will convene on Feb. 20 in Jerusalem.
He asserted that the participation in the Zionist Congress for the first time by delegates from the Reform and Conservative movement, plus the Sephardim and the Maccabi as well as the appearance of a new factor in the Zionist movement in Israel, the Democratic Movement for Change–which in its platform for the Knesset elections called for non-interference by political parties in Israel in the Zionist movements of the diaspora–will result in an overturn of the traditional domination of the political parties in Israel with their counterparts in the diaspora, which prevailed in the previous Congresses.
“For the first time in the history of the Zionist Congresses, the 29th Congress will encompass the majority of the Jewish people, with the largest representation from Jews in the diaspora,” Sultanik said. He observed that while the “depoliticization of the Zionist movement has been strongly advocated for many years by the World Confederation, a stand validated by the passing of time,” it deplores any action by Zionist bodies in the diaspora which are aligned with the opposition parties in the Knesset in voicing opposition to the Israel government on issues which are irrelevant to the diaspora.” The Confederation considers such opposition by diaspora party bodies as a disservice to Zionism, he said. Diaspora Zionists should rather direct their entire support to the State of Israel, its people and its democratically elected government, he declared.
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