Why were haredi political factions against the WZO anniversary event?
Members of the Zionist executive from around the world gathered on stage in Basel singing Hatikvah, but where were the members of haredi political factions?
Members of the Zionist executive from across the world stood on the stage at the Three Kings Hotel in Basel, during the celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress, but there were a group of members who were missing: Executive members of the World Zionist Organization (WZO) from both of the haredi political factions, Eretz Hakodesh and Shas, weren’t among the many officials on stage, singing Hatikvah, while an Israeli singer led the singing Israel’s national anthem.
The Jerusalem Post approached the two parties in order to understand why they decided to ban the event. The only member was Yanki Deri, head of a WZO department as representative of the Sephardic haredi Shas party and son of former minister Aryeh Deri. He participated in the event and in the gala evening but didn’t join the members of the executive on stage during the singing of Hatikvah, presumably because of the fact that a woman led the singing.
Eretz Hakodesh wouldn’t comment directly and answer the Post’s questions regarding their absence from this historic event. Sources in Eretz Hakodesh gave a few reasons explaining why they officially decided to have their representatives stay away from the celebrations. The first reason is the Kashrut of the event: close to 2,000 of the participants received three meals a day during the 48 hours of the conference.
The meals were all made by a Kosher European catering company, yet it wasn’t Mehadrin, a stricter version of Kashrut. Sources in the haredi-American party have said that the level of Kashrut wasn’t suitable for them. In addition, the fact that a female singer performed on stage, they shared that they wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting in the audience, let alone singing on the stage. Another reason mentioned was the timing of the conference, during the last days of August when children and families are on summer vacation. Yet the same thing can be said for the rest of the men and women that participated, who had to leave their families during this time.
Another source within Eretz Hakodesh mentioned the fact that the event was “a waste of the organization’s money,” since it funded flights and hotels for most of the participants.
Sources in the WZO executive said that “the fact that the haredi members haven’t participated in the largest event our movement hosted in decades, emphasizes that the haredi parties don’t really believe in Zionism, but are just in it in order to receive funds and influence on agenda regarding Judaism.”
Other senior officials said that “if the Kosher food was good enough for haredei participants from around the world such as Judge Ruthy Frier and rabbis from around the world, it should be Kosher enough for the haredi members.” An additional executive member stated that “if they really wanted to come, the organization would find solutions to all of their problems, yet they didn’t really want to come. Many of them were also asked by their leaders or constituents not to participate in this huge celebration of Zionism.”
The WZO declined to comment on the matter.
About 1,400 guests gathered in Basel, Switzerland, this week, to mark the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress in a three-day event, corresponding with the same dates in 1897. The conference was organized by the World Zionist Organization in cooperation with the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the Government of the Basel Canton. The highlight of the event was at the Stadtcasino Hall, where the First Zionist Congress took place. This is where the first 208 delegates discussed their vision for the establishment of the Jewish state.
