The World Zionist Congress, established by Theodor Herzl in 1897, sets policy for the Zionist movement and allocates over $1 billion annually through bodies like the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency.

By Gila Isaacson, JFeed

A record-breaking 230,257 American Jews voted in the 39th World Zionist Congress election, with Orthodox slates securing an unprecedented 47% of the ballots, challenging the historic dominance of liberal movements and reshaping the U.S. delegation.

The American Zionist Movement (AZM) reported that four Orthodox lists, Am Yisrael Chai, Eretz HaKodesh, Orthodox Israel Coalition, Mizrachi, and Aish Ha’Am, collectively garnered 105,548 votes (45.9%), with three smaller Torah-oriented slates adding 3,538 votes.

Am Yisrael Chai, linked to the Olami network and running for the first time, took second place with 31,765 votes (13.8%).

Eretz HaKodesh, representing ultra-Orthodox voters, secured 29,159 votes (12.7%), followed by Mizrachi’s 26,975 (11.7%) and Aish Ha’Am’s 6,649 (2.9%).

In contrast, the 2020 Orthodox vote was only 34%.

The Reform slate, Vote Reform, led with 47,887 votes but saw its share drop to 20.8% from 25.5% in 2020.

The Conservative/Masorti Mercaz USA earned 27,893 votes (12.1%), slightly down from 2020, while the progressive Hatikvah slate rose to 11,537 votes (5%).

The Israel American Council (IAC), in its debut, secured 5,344 votes (2.3%). Liberal and centrist slates, which held 44% in 2020, fell to 38% this year, emphasizing the Orthodox ascent.

The World Zionist Congress, established by Theodor Herzl in 1897, sets policy for the Zionist movement and allocates over $1 billion annually through bodies like the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency.

The U.S. elects 152 of the Congress’s 525 delegates, with mandates proportional to votes.

Orthodox lists are projected to claim at least 70 seats, potentially over 80, granting them significant influence over budgets for Jewish education, aliyah, and settlements, especially in coalition with Israel’s right-religious parties.

World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel called the results a “historic moment” for “proud Zionism and tradition,” urging unity post-October 7.

AZM’s Herbert Block hailed the 86% turnout increase, noting, “American Jews have shown Zionism is stronger than ever.”

Rabbi Steven Burg of Aish Ha’Am emphasized unity, pledging to work with all factions when delegates convene in Jerusalem from October 28-30, 2025.

Despite 18,948 invalidated ballots (8%), the Orthodox plurality is unlikely to shift, though final results await AZM tribunal and Zionist Supreme Court rulings.

Liberal leaders face weakened coalition leverage, while Orthodox groups aim to boost funding for yeshivot and religious outreach, signaling a major ideological shift.

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Between 2022 and 2024, the number of antisemitic incidents reported worldwide soared by 340%, according to a joint study by the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization.

By World Israel News Staff

There was a 340% increase in the total number of antisemitic incidents reported worldwide in 2024 compared to 2022, and nearly a 100% increase compared to 2023, the World Zionist Organization and The Jewish Agency for Israel revealed in their annual report on the state of global antisemitism presented to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

In advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and following a year marked by extreme antisemitic incidents, the organizations presented the report in a special event held at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday.

The report was submitted by the Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Yaakov Hagoel, and the Chairman of The Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Doron Almog, along with Dr. Raheli Baratz, Head of the Department for Combating Antisemitism and Community Resilience at the World Zionist Organization, and Yigal Palmor, Director of International Relations at The Jewish Agency.

The report highlights the primary trends in global antisemitism and compares the situation between 2022 and 2024.

The choice of 2022 as the methodological reference year was due to its status as a year without exceptional events affecting the level of global antisemitism, unlike 2023, which was significantly impacted by the events of October 7 and their aftermath.

The year 2024 emerged as a peak year for antisemitic incidents in most of the surveyed countries.

Among the key findings of the report were a massive increase in the number of antisemitic incidents across North America between 2022 and 2024, rising by 288% and peaking in April 2024.

The incidents included severe acts of violence, such as the murder of Dr. Ben Harouni in San Jose, California; attacks on synagogues; and violence in educational institutions.

The American political arena was also affected, with attacks on Jewish candidates from both parties and harassment at polling stations. In Canada, the situation is even more severe, with a 562% increase in antisemitic incidents, a quarter of which were violent.

Significant increases in the number of reported antisemitic incidents were also found in Europe, with a 450% increase in Britain and a 350% increase in France.

A comprehensive public opinion survey showed that 64% of French people believe that Jews have reason to fear for their lives in the country.

Other countries in the Anglosphere beyond Britain, the U.S. and Canada also faced dramatic surges in antisemitism, with Australia recording a 387% increase in the number of incidents from 2022 to 2024, while South Africa recorded a a 185% increase, with clear antisemitic expressions accompanied by calls for boycotts of Israel and anti-Israel propaganda.

Sunday’s report noted that there may be underreporting in South Africa due to a lack of registration and reporting of incidents, and the actual number of antisemitic incidents is likely higher.

The former Soviet Union witnessed “a significant escalation in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric,” the report claimed, with a string of violent antisemitic attacks in Dagestan in June 2024.

In Lithuania, an openly antisemitic party won third place in the parliament and even received ministerial portfolios.

Iran continues to spread extreme antisemitic propaganda and deny Israel’s right to exist, while Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates are taking a more pragmatic approach at the government level, “although public opinion does not necessarily align with the moderation displayed by their leaders.”

The study warned of the spread of “new” antisemitism in Asia, with a “tsunami” of antisemitic content, Holocaust denial, and conspiracy theories on Chinese social media, the Israeli embassy in Beijing said.

“The report indicates a serious increase in antisemitism worldwide,” President Isaac Herzog said.

“Social networks have become central platforms for spreading hatred and antisemitism under the guise of freedom of expression. Calls to boycott Israel, especially when combined with ancient and ugly hatred against the Jewish people, are rapidly degenerating into violent outbursts to the point of harming Jewish property, body, and soul.”

“I emphasize again: the hatred of antisemitism never ends with Jews alone and is a threat to democracy and the entire free world. All governments of the world must act together to combat the phenomenon and educate for dialogue, tolerance, and mutual respect.”

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The number of annual immigrants to Israel since 2010 has ranged from almost 75,000 people to just 13,000.

By Jack Elbaum, The Algemeiner

Jewish immigration to Israel has not slowed over the past year despite the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, according to the chairman of the World Zionist Organization.

Yaakov Hagoel told The Algemeiner in an interview that since Oct. 7, when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded southern Israel and launched the war, more than 29,000 people have made aliyah, the process of Jews immigrating to Israel.

Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack — in which the Palestinian terror group killed 1,200 people, took another 251 hostage, and committed rampant sexual violence — began a war “not only against the State of Israel, but also against the entire Jewish people,” Hagoel said.

He added that the onslaught, the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, “caused the Jewish community in Israel and around the world to feel less safe and secure.”

Since Oct. 7, antisemitism around the world has spiked to alarming levels.

The Anti-Defamation League released a report in April showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high.

Most of the outrages occurred after Oct. 7, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, such outrages have also skyrocketed to record highs in several other countries around the world, especially in Europe, since the Hamas atrocities.

In France, for example, Jewish leaders have expressed concern about the safety of their community if French Jews don’t leave the country.

Consequently, Hagoel continued, “Jews around the world are looking for something more secure that they can rely on to raise their children and to link them to the Jewish traditions. And there’s no doubt that the interest in aliyah since Oct. 7 is related to it and hasn’t happened in many, many years.”

According to data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of annual immigrants to Israel since 2010 has ranged from almost 75,000 people to just 13,000 — with most years between 15,000 and 30,000.

This would make the year after Oct. 7 relatively consistent with the past decade and a half.

However, Hagoel said he expects 100,000 new olim — the Hebrew term for immigrants who move to Israel — to come after the Israel-Hamas war is over.

Because of the war, Hagoel explained, “the expectation is that they would fall dramatically and they haven’t done that.”

But the reason people are coming is not just because of the war, he said.

It is also because “anyone that makes aliyah is fulfilling a dream of returning home. So, the security situation around the world is a trigger to expedite that will to come home.”

In fact, Hagoel added, “there has been a dramatic increase in numbers in the opening of files to express an interest in aliyah and to begin the process — that’s increased by around 300 percent since the same period last year.”

After a recent plane of new olim came from France, Hagoel said it “demonstrates that the Jewish people are determined to continue building their future in our homeland, the land of Israel. This unprecedented aliyah is a testament to the recognition of the global Jewish community that Israel is not just a refuge, but a beacon of hope and faith.”

Asked about a message he had for the Jewish world, Hagoel emphasized the responsibility he felt to Jews across the world, regardless if they will make aliyah, and how important it is to help them.

He said he and his organization feel a “responsibility for all the Jews who live in Israel, those who will live in Israel, and those who will never live here.”

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Israel Friends has donated roughly $26 million of equipment, and CSI provided training and equipment to the security teams.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

In the face of escalating threats from the nearby Palestinian Authority city of Tulkarem, emergency rapid response teams in Israel’s Sharon region were equipped with hundreds of ceramic vests and protective equipment on Thursday.

As The Press Service of Israel recently reported, communities in Israel’s Sharon region — the coastal plain — are grappling with daily Palestinian shooting attacks and infiltrations.

Sharon residents told TPS-IL they were especially alarmed by videos circulating on Hamas’s social media channels that frequently feature nighttime footage of gunmen firing at Israeli guards along perimeter fences before quickly fleeing.

The initiative to bolster the kitot konenut — local civilian security teams — was bolstered by two American nonprofits, Israel Friends and Civil Squads of Israel (CSI) and the World Zionist Organization.

Since October 7, Israel Friends has donated roughly 500 tons of equipment worth $26 million to the kitot konenut. CSI provides training and equipment to the security teams.

Members of kitot konenut are usually trained in basic military and first aid skills, and they are equipped with defensive gear and weapons to handle threats until official security forces arrive.

Israel has been working to strengthen local civilian security teams after they were overwhelmed by Hamas during the October 7 attacks on communities near the Gaza border.

“Unfortunately, in recent months we have seen a significant increase in threats to borderline villages, which necessitates increasing the protective measures of our rapid response units,” said Eli Eton, head of the Lev HaSharon Regional Council during a ceremony at Moshav Nitzani Oz, where the equipment was handed over.

“I would like to thank the donors for their spirit of giving, the organizations Israel Friends, WZO and its CEO Yaakov Hagoel, and Civil Squads of Israel and their team Danny Buchen and Nir Alon. A big thank you to the volunteers, thanks to whom we sleep better at night. They work day and night to keep us safe.”

On Tuesday night, Israeli security forces entered the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem in a counterterror operation, according to Palestinian media reports.

On July 3, four Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists planting a roadside bomb in the camp were killed in an Israeli drone strike.

Since October 7, approximately 4,150 Palestinian terror suspects have been arrested in counterterror raids throughout Judea and Samaria of whom 40% are associated with Hamas.

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Some 1,400 people will celebrate the 1897 event after which Theodor Herzl declared to his diary, “At Basel I founded the Jewish state.”

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, will be the guests of honor at the quasiquicentennial of the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland on Monday.

Herzog will deliver the keynote speech at the special gala marking the watershed event organized by Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism.

The First Zionist Congress took place August 29-31, 1897 at the Stadtcasino Hall, in the northwestern Swiss city of Basel, which dates back to medieval times.

While in the country for an official state visit that includes a meeting with Swiss President Ignazio Cassis, centering around topics including “important diplomatic security and economic issues,” Herzog said that the upcoming Basel speech will be the most important part of his trip.

“The heart of this visit is a historic milestone,” Herzog said. “The 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress in Basel, was a formative event for the Jewish People and for humanity at large.”

“Zionism is the ideal combination of Judaism’s deepest roots with groundbreaking innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. As the president of the nation-state of the Jewish People, I am astonished and filled with pride every day anew at the sight of Herzl’s vision coming to life in front of our eyes, and I feel the heavy duty and responsibility for the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”

The three-day conference that begins Sunday is a celebration of the gathering of 208 Jews from all over the world to establish the Zionist Organization.

The attendees approved the Basel Program, which formulated Zionism’s goal as “establishing for the Jewish people a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine.”

Three days after the delegates went home, Herzl famously 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. If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in 50 years, everyone will perceive it.”

Fifty years later, on November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to partition what was then British-ruled Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. While the Arabs rejected the proposal, the decision set off celebrations in Jewish communities in Palestine and around the world, and the Jewish State of Israel was declared on May 14, 1948.

Some 1,400 people are slated to attend the gala, which will have two parts: the Herzl Leadership Conference focusing on modern Zionism, and the Impact Conference for Social and Economic Entrepreneurship, with the participation of 125 invited leaders in high-tech fields.

There will tight security, as the Swiss government has received warnings that pro-Palestinian and pro-BDS protests are being planned to take place near the hall. Although the Rhine River which adjoins Basel is a vital transport route for cargo, it will be closed to ship traffic for the duration, as will the airspace above the city.

The conference was organized by the World Zionist Organization in cooperation with the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the government of the Canton of Basel.

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Emotional reunion between family members, some of whom hadn’t seen relatives in two decades.

By JNS

The arrival of an Ethiopian Airways jetliner at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport earlier this week set the scene for an emotional reunion between family members, some of whom hadn’t seen their relatives in two decades.

The operation, spearheaded by Israel’s Minister of Immigrant Absorption Pnina Tamano-Shata, is designed to help the remaining community of Jews living in refugee camps in Gondar and Addis Ababa make their way back to Israel.

So far, more than 5,000 people who have first-degree relatives already living in Israel have moved or are scheduled to move in the near future.

The flight consisted of 150 people and was made possible through a joint initiative of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ); Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration; and the Jewish Agency for Israel as part of “Operation Tzur Israel” (“Rock of Israel”).

Escorting the group back to Israel, Yael Eckstein, president of the IFCJ, said helping to bring the final remnants of Ethiopian Jewry home to Israel is a central part of their mandate.

“It’s a source of great pride to be able to assist hundreds more olim to come home,” she said. “The most powerful part of this flight is knowing that many of these passengers have been waiting for decades for this moment, and we see it as a central Zionist ideal to be able to make these types of reunions possible.”

Among the arrivals was 50-year-old Astabal, who said that he hadn’t seen his parents in 18 years since they moved to Tel Aviv. Azanu Geremay Melesa similarly hasn’t seen her mother in nearly 20 years. She lost her eldest son recently after he fell fighting in the nation’s civil war, which helped spur the family’s decision to make the journey to Israel.

“When this awful thing happened to me, I was very lonely,” she says. “My mother, who I was very close with, was not with me, and when I couldn’t share my pain with her, it made the pain even worse. Coming to Israel was always our dream, and we believe only good things are going to happen to us there. I believe we are making a great choice, and it opens up a great opportunity for our children.”

‘Bring Our Brothers and Sisters Home’

Tamano-Shata said that “to be able to unite families who have been separated by thousands of miles allows us to finally address a failure that has affected the Ethiopian community for many years. These families have been waiting for this moment for decades.”

“Through the partnership between our ministries, the Jewish Agency and the IFCJ we are able to witness another historic moment in Israel’s history where we have reaffirmed our commitment to do everything we can to bring our brothers and sisters home,” she added.

Ranging in age from 6 to 50, the new immigrants will first live in five different absorption centers around the country, where they will be provided with Hebrew-language courses and other training to help them acclimate into Israeli society and join the workforce.

“The Jewish Agency will continue to lead the aliyah efforts from everywhere around the world and for every Jew who wants to move to Israel,” said chair of the World Zionist Organization and acting chair of the Jewish Agency Yaakov Hagoel. “We deeply appreciate the work of all the partners who have made this possible and know that with every new oleh who comes home our country becomes that much stronger.”

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The doctor and other Jewish employees experienced antisemitic abuse, including being told that he “whined like a Jew.”

By World Israel News Staff

The Swedish Medical Association is suing Karolinska University Hospital after the firing of a Jewish doctor who says he suffered antisemitic abuse during his tenure, Israel National News reported. He also claims that his Jewish identity was the reason for his dismissal.

According to the report, the doctor filed a lawsuit in 2018, claiming harassment due to antisemitism, and the hospital subsequently fired him, although he is known to be an excellent physician.

Among the complaints documented was that Svensson was told that he has a “Jewish nose,” is stingy and “whines like a Jew.”

Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, less-qualified colleagues were given higher positions and better salaries. He was eventually let go after pointing out the discrimination.

The Lawfare Project, which is involved in the case, said that when the doctor complained about the antisemitism, Karolinska retaliated against him with a “years-long campaign of reprisals to intimidate and silence him.”

According to the hospital, the doctor was dismissed after refusing to follow instructions for an extended period, the report said. The Swedish Medical Association, however, disagrees and says it has filed a motion on his behalf, demanding compensation.

A source in the World Zionist Organization told Ynet that the case is “a new Dreyfus affair,” referring to the notorious antisemitic incident in the late 19th century in which a Jewish officer in the French military was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of spying for Germany.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center included Karolinska University Hospital in its list of the top 10 worst incidents of antisemitism in 2018 over the harassment of three Jewish physicians.

The World Zionist Organization is also supporting the doctor, saying the doctor was a victim of antisemitism. A WZO source told Ynet that the case is “a new Dreyfus affair.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center had placed Karolinska University Hospital on its 2018 Top Ten list of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide.

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WZO’s vice-chairman says there are “barriers and difficulties in absorption” for French Jews which must be broken down. 

By David Isaac, World Israel News

The near-term goal is 50,000 Jewish immigrants from France with many more to come.

That’s the plan developed by World Zionist Organization Vice-Chairman Yaakov Hagoel. He presented a call for action in a letter recently handed to Israel’s Minister of Immigration and Absorption Pnina Tamano-Shata.

In the letter, he says 50,000 French Jews can arrive in the short-term and another half-million in the next few years. He said a list of businesses willing to hire the new immigrants should be compiled. He also said Israel should invest and subsidize the immigrants’ arrival to soften their landing.

“Every shekel we invest in a new immigrant from France will return to us in the form of 15 shekels in about 10 years,” Hagoel said.

“Beyond our worthwhile investment in the country, we will gain a new spirit from cohesive and strong communities, which have been together for centuries. The State of Israel cannot look to the future without bringing French Jews to Israel,” he said.

“The situation in France is deteriorating every day,” Hagoel said, noting that Jews are leaving France because of anti-Semitism. Only they’re choosing countries other than Israel. Some of those countries include Canada, England and even Australia.

“Since 2015, there has been a decline in the rates of immigration of French Jewry due to barriers and difficulties in absorption,” he said.

But he said, “The corona crisis, the deteriorating economic situation and the strengthening of radical Islam create an opportunity that will not return to breaking the barriers of bureaucracy and bringing in French Jewry.”

“All government ministries must mobilize for the issue and bring the Jews of France to Israel,” Hagoel said. “It will be the sorrow of generations if we do not press on the gas now and bring the Jews of France to Israel.”

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The WZO’s annual report on global anti-Semitism released Monday finds that the coronavirus pandemic has led to a resurgence of anti-Semitic activity and beliefs.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the World Zionist Organization (WZO) released its annual report on the state of global anti-Semitism. This year’s report details a spike in global anti-Semitism, partially attributed to the coronavirus pandemic.

The report found an 18 percent increase in violent anti-Semitic incidents worldwide from 2018 to 2019. Both the Poway synagogue shooting in California, in which one woman was killed and several worshippers were seriously wounded, and the attempted Halle synagogue attack in Berlin, which led to the deaths of two bystanders and wounding of two others, occurred in 2019.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, anti-Semitic activity has increased online, with “Jews, Zionists and Israelis, as individuals and as a collective, being accused of causing and spreading the coronavirus.” However, the practice of blaming Jews for the world’s ills is hardly a new phenomenon.

“Blaming Jews for ‘why things go wrong’ is a common practice as old as anti-Semitism itself,” says the report, prepared by veteran anti-Semitism researcher Eli Nachum.

WZO Vice Chairman Yaakov Hagoel reached out to the heads of global Jewish communities, organizing a meeting to develop a strategic response and offer support. Hagoel said in a statement, “The findings of the report show that the scourge of anti-Semitism has already become a malignant disease that disperses its poison around the world.”

“We have already seen this phenomenon in the Middle Ages during the Black Plague. Then, as today, there is incitement against the Jewish community and a false accusation that somehow Jews are behind the epidemic. Nevertheless, we will combat this deadly phenomenon.”

According to the report, “major violent events are generally reported and recorded as presented here, whereas more minor violent incidents – threats and harassment, face-to-face abuses, insults, accusations, shaming or graffiti, are under-reported in some countries, and cannot be counted even where detailed reporting is available.”

This suggests that the real numbers may be significantly higher than stated in the report.

Researchers surveyed local Jewish communities by country and region about their feelings of physical safety and security for the future. Forty-two percent of Jews in Europe reported seriously considering emigrating from Europe because of anti-Semitism in the last five years.

Seventy-five percent of European Jews felt their governments’ responses to anti-Semitism were ineffective, up from 70 percent in 2018.

French Jews reported a particularly bleak view of the situation in their country, where several deadly anti-Semitic attacks took place in recent years. Seventy percent of French Jews say they have been the victim of anti-Semitic harassment, with 23 percent suffering from physical violence at least once.

Ten percent of French Jews reported experiencing multiple incidents of physical violence because of their Jewish identity. Seventy-seven percent of French Jews feel that anti-Semitism is increasing, and 67 percent consider the level of anti-Semitism in France to be “very high.”

Researchers also found a disturbing connection between the Poway and Berlin synagogue shooters. Both were extremely active in online communities, sharing anti-Semitic propaganda and participating in discussions in hate group message boards and chats.

“What happens on the internet does not stay on the internet,” the report warns.

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World Herut wants a security program designed around an existing Israeli emissary model that has been proven effective.

By David Isaac, World Israel News 

The World Herut Movement intends to propose a resolution at the next World Zionist Congress (WZC) for the self-defense of Diaspora institutions in the West, the organization said in a statement on Monday.

“In the aftermath of attacks and attempted terrorist attacks on synagogues and Jewish targets in New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Poway, Halle, Germany, and in many other communities, it is time for the WZO [World Zionist Organization] to create new programs to directly help Jews worldwide to protect their communities,” Herut said.

The resolution calls for the allocation of funds, resources and programming for the “recruitment, training and deployment of security advisers” to assist local synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers to understand their security needs and prevent violent attacks.

“The resolution is a direct expansion/continuation of our proactive approach,” Executive Director of World Herut Karma Feinstein-Cohen told World Israel News.

“We believe in teaching skills that will help Jews protect themselves – a basic part of being a proud Jew. Sending out Israeli experts to train in the field in the Diaspora would ensure that many more establishments would have actual answers and skills to protect themselves,” she said.

Herut sees Israeli security experts working on the proven Israeli emissary model, in which Israelis (known in Hebrew as shalichim) come to work for six months to two years within a Diaspora community. The World Zionist Organization runs the emissary program.

Herut recently made news when it introduced a ‘Synagogue Security Tool Kit’ in the wake of the Monsey attack, when a man burst into a rabbi’s home in the upstate New York town and seriously injured five Jews with a machete.

“Herut Zionist slate #10 has chosen a proactive approach to the recent rise in anti-Semitism. Instead of the traditional approach claiming to ‘combat anti-Semitism’ by sitting people in conference rooms to kvetch, Herut created a security tool-kit giving practical, hands-on advice for Jewish establishments and synagogues,” Feinstein-Cohen said.

“Antisemitism cannot be combated. It always has been and always will be. We can react to it differently,” she said.

Herut describes itself “as an international movement for Zionist pride and education and is dedicated to the ideals of pre-World War Two Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky.”

The 38th World Zionist Congress will take place in Jerusalem in October 2020.

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More than a third of Jews ages 18-29 had either experienced anti-Semitism on campus in the past five years or knew someone who had.

By World Israel News Staff

According to a report by Yediot Aharonot, a recent study by the World Zionist Organization (WZO) suggests that anti-Semitic activity on American college campuses is being indirectly funded by U.S. Jewry.

According to the report, billions of dollars in donations were given by U.S. Jews to universities across the country, including those where students have been subject to a rising anti-Semitism, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Columbia.

“It cannot be that donations intended for student welfare go toward funding anti-Semitic activity. I will turn to the heads of the Jewish groups in the U.S. so that the checkbooks are closed to places that continue this behavior,” said Yaakov Hagoel, Vice-Chair of WZO.

In October, the American Jewish Congress revealed that more than a third of Jews ages 18-29 had either experienced anti-Semitism on campus in the past five years or knew someone who had.

A study by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs found that attacks on Jewish students during 2019 were reaching record highs on campuses, and were increasingly linked to anti-Israel activity.

In reaction to the alarming rise of anti-Semitism on university campuses, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December stating that anti-Semitism would be covered under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.

It adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism, which includes holding Israel to a higher standard than the rest of the world and calling the state “a racist endeavor” – common themes among BDS supporters.

Universities that do not stop such anti-Israel activities that fall under the IHRA definition will face defunding by the U.S. Department of Education as a result of the president’ order.

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