Yair Netanyahu’s appointment sparks uproar, stalls World Zionist Congress deal

Opposition parties, including Yesh Atid, immediately withdrew from the tentative power-sharing deal and blocked votes on other nominations.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A fragile compromise over leadership appointments at key Zionist institutions collapsed Wednesday night after delegates at the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem learned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair had been nominated for a senior post at the World Zionist Organization.

The deal, which aimed to divide top positions between liberal and conservative blocs, fell apart just hours before it was due to be finalized.

Delegates voted to extend the Congress by two weeks to allow more time for negotiations, though insiders said a revised list could emerge soon.

Culture Minister Miki Zohar, a Likud loyalist and candidate for WZO chairman, announced Yair Netanyahu’s nomination to lead the organization’s information department.

The position reportedly includes a salary and benefits comparable to those of a cabinet minister. Opposition parties, including Yesh Atid, immediately withdrew from the tentative power-sharing deal and blocked votes on other nominations.

The younger Netanyahu, who has spent much of the past two years in Miami, is known for his combative online presence and sharp criticism of his father’s opponents.

He has previously sparred with world leaders, accused Israeli officials of corruption, and aligned with far-right figures abroad. Supporters describe him as a fearless defender of Zionism.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said his party “discovered at the last minute” that Likud was attempting to insert Netanyahu “under the table” into a lucrative position, prompting them to scuttle the deal.

Zohar responded that the opposition’s outrage was hypocritical, claiming the left had long used the same institutions for political patronage.

The original agreement would have seen Rabbi Doron Perez, head of the World Mizrachi movement and father of a soldier killed on October 7, assume the WZO chairmanship, while Yesh Atid MK Meir Cohen was slated to lead the Jewish National Fund-KKL before handing the role to Likud midterm.

The collapse has reignited long-standing factional tensions within the 525-member Congress, which allocates about $1 billion annually to global Jewish projects.

The WZO, founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897, remains one of the central forums through which Israel and the Jewish Diaspora shape policy and priorities for the Zionist movement.