RSS
This Passover, Vote in the World Zionist Congress Election
People stand next to flags on the day the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages, Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, are handed over under the terms of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
It was said that the early Zionist activist Nachum Sokolow was fluent in 70 languages — all of them Yiddish. It was a joke, of course. But like all good Jewish jokes, it hid a deeper truth.
Sokolow, one of the forgotten giants of the early Zionist movement, really was a linguistic marvel. Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish, Spanish, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, German, and English — he wrote and spoke them all fluently. In an age before Google Translate, Sokolow was Google Translate. But every language he spoke had a singular purpose: advancing the cause of Jewish nationalism.
Sokolow put his linguistic wizardry to remarkable use. In 1917, in a now barely remembered triumph of early Zionist diplomacy, just months before the Balfour Declaration was signed, Sokolow pulled off one of the most improbable coups in Jewish history: he secured a letter of support for Zionism from the Vatican.
As the representative of the World Zionist Organization (WZO), Sokolow met with Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, the Pope’s Secretary of State, and made the case for Jewish return to the Land of Israel. Somehow — perhaps with a dash of Latin and a well-timed Biblical reference or two — Sokolow won the Cardinal over.
Soon afterward, the Vatican issued a letter expressing sympathy for Jewish national aspirations in Palestine. When asked later how Sokolow had managed such a diplomatic miracle, one Vatican insider quipped: “He made it sound like Zionism was a branch of Catholicism.”
Sokolow described the encounter in his memoir: “The Cardinal Secretary of State received me very courteously … He told me that the aspirations of the Jewish people for a national home in Palestine were understandable and natural, and that the Holy See would not oppose any measures that might be taken to realize them.”
He was right. On May 4, 1917, Pope Benedict XV described the return of the Jews to the Holy and as “providential — God has willed it.”
The Vatican’s support came just months before the Balfour Declaration, and Sokolow, together with Chaim Weizmann, used it to show Great Britain and the Allies that Zionism had moral backing that extended beyond the Jewish world.
So while the Vatican’s letter didn’t make headlines the way Balfour’s letter did, it played a subtle but significant role in paving the way for the eventual creation of the State of Israel.
There’s something wonderful about that story. It reminds us that even in the darkest, most complex times, a few words — spoken in the right tone, in the right room, by the right person — can change the course of history.
Which brings me to today — and to the action you can take, specifically through the WZO and the vital work it continues to do for the Jewish people in Israel and across the globe.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever voted in a WZO election — or even knew such elections existed. But if you care about the Jewish future, about Israel, and about Jewish education and continuity, then the WZO ballot should matter to you. Every five years, Jews in the Diaspora get a rare opportunity to directly influence the course of Jewish history — just like Nahum Sokolow did — by voting in the WZO elections.
It’s not a national election, and there are no political parties in the usual sense. But the stakes are high. This is the mechanism through which hundreds of millions of dollars are allocated to organizations that educate, inspire, and strengthen the Jewish people’s connection to Israel. It’s the closest thing we have to a global Jewish “town hall” — and your voice is needed now more than ever.
And it’s especially fitting that this election is taking place as we approach Pesach and over Pesach — the festival of redemption. Because Pesach was not only about leaving Egypt. It was also about entering Eretz Yisrael.
When God appeared to Moshe in Egypt and renewed the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God didn’t just promise liberation — He promised a destination: וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלוֹת מִצְרַיִם… וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם אֶל הָאָרֶץ – “I will take you out from under the burdens of Egypt … and I will bring you to the Land” (Ex. 6:6–8).
The Exodus was never meant to be an end in itself. It was the beginning of something far more significant. A promise fulfilled. The entire purpose was to ensure that the Jewish people would make it to the Promised Land — and live there as a free nation under God. The question is: Do we still believe in that promise? Do we live it? Do we teach it? Do we defend it?
Some might say: But we live in the United States — or France, or Australia, or the UK. Why should we have a say in what happens in Israel?
The answer is simple: because Israel belongs to all Jews, not just those who live within its borders. It is our shared inheritance. Our shared story. Our shared destiny. The WZO election is one of the few formal mechanisms through which Diaspora Jews get a voice in shaping that destiny.
And if ever that connection felt distant, October 7th made it devastatingly clear: we are all in this together. It didn’t matter whether you were in Ashkelon or Atlanta, Jerusalem, or New York: the grief was universal, the fear was shared, and the resolve that followed — the unshakable determination to stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel — proved once again that Am Yisrael is one family. One body. One soul.
The WZO allocates funds to Zionist education, aliyah programs, youth movements, Hebrew language initiatives, and efforts to build bridges between Jews around the world and their ancestral homeland. But those funds don’t float in a vacuum. They are guided by the values and policies of those elected to its governing bodies. That’s why it matters who’s at the table. And that’s why your vote matters.
In the face of rising antisemitism, growing global pressure on Israel, and relentless efforts to distort the moral clarity of Zionism into something shameful, we cannot afford to stay silent. We must not retreat from our principles. We must not apologize for our identity or our inheritance.
The WZO ballot is one meaningful way to act. It may not feel as dramatic as crossing the Red Sea, but it’s how we stand tall and say: We are here. We are proud. And we will not yield our place in history, or our voice in the present.
This Pesach, as we sit around our seder tables and recount our miraculous journey from slavery to freedom, let’s also remember that our freedom was always tied to a destination: the Land of Israel. Voting in the WZO election is a small but powerful affirmation that we still believe in that destination — and in the destiny it represents.
לשנה הבאה בירושלים — Next year in Jerusalem. But this year — make your voice count. To vote in the WZO elections, use this link: https://www.votezoacoalition.org/
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post This Passover, Vote in the World Zionist Congress Election first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’
Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
In a warning sign for the campaign of Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani, a majority of city voters in a new poll say the candidate’s hardline anti-Israel stance makes them less likely to vote for him.
In the survey of likely city voters conducted by American Pulse, 52.5 percent said Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” coupled with his backing of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement made them less likely to vote for him in November. Just 31% of city voters polled were more likely to support him because of these positions.
At the same time, a significant share of young New York City voters support Mamdani’s anti-Israel positioning, a striking sign of shifting generational views on Israel and the Palestinian cause.
Nearly half of voters aged 18 to 44 (46 percent) said the State Assembly member’s backing for BDS and “refusal to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’” made them more likely to support him.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, has been under fire for defending “globalize the intifada,” a slogan many Jewish groups associate with incitement to violence against Israel and Jews. While critics argue it glorifies terrorism, supporters claim it’s a call for international solidarity with oppressed peoples, especially Palestinians. Mamdani has also voiced support for BDS, a movement widely condemned by mainstream Jewish organizations as antisemitic for singling out Israel.
The generational divide exposed by the poll comes amid a broader political realignment. Younger progressives across the country are increasingly critical of Israeli policies, especially in the wake of the Gaza war, and more receptive to Palestinian activism. But to many Jewish leaders, Mamdani’s rising support is alarming.
Rabbi David Wolpe, visiting scholar at Harvard University, condemned the phrase with a sarcastic analogy.
“‘Globalize the intifada’ is just a political slogan,” he said. “Like ‘The cockroaches must be exterminated’ was just a housing authority slogan in Rwanda.”
Jewish organizations have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents in New York and across the U.S. since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last fall. The blending of anti-Zionist slogans with calls for “intifada,” historically linked to violent uprisings, has deepened fears among Jewish communities that traditional red lines are being crossed.
Whether this emerging coalition reshapes New York politics remains to be seen. However, the poll indicates that among younger voters, views that were once considered fringe are quickly moving into the mainstream.
The post New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events
A Jewish gay pride flag. Photo: Twitter.
The research division of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) released a report on Wednesday detailing incidents of hate against Jews which took place last month during demonstrations in celebration of LGBTQ rights and identity.
Incidents reported by the group include:
- At a Pride march in Wales, the activists Cymru Queers for Palestine chose to block the path and show a sign that said “Profiting from genocide,” an attempt to link the event’s sponsors — such as Amazon — to the war in Gaza.
- A Dublin Pride march saw the participation of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which labeled Israel a “genocidal entity.”
- In Toronto at a late June Pride march, demonstrators again attacked organizers with a sign declaring, “Pride partners with genocide.”
CAM also identified a recurring narrative deployed against Israel by some far-left activists: so-called “pinkwashing,” a term which the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement calls “an Israeli government propaganda strategy that cynically exploits LGBTQIA+ rights to project a progressive image while concealing Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies oppressing Palestinians.”
The report notes that at a Washington DC Pride event in early June Medea Benjamin, cofounder of activist group Code Pink and a regular of anti-war protests, wore a pair of goofy, oversized sunglasses and a shirt in her signature pink with the phrase “you can’t pinkwash genocide.”
Other incidents CAM recorded showed the injection of anti-Israel sentiment into Pride events.
A musical group canceled a performance at an interfaith service in Brooklyn, claiming the hosting synagogue had a “public alignment with pro-Israel political positions.” In San Francisco before the yearly Trans March, a Palestine group said in its announcement of its participation, “Stop the war on Iran and the genocide of Palestine, stop the war on immigrants and attacks on trans people.”
CAM notes that this “queers for Palestine” sentiment is not new, pointing to a 2017 event wherein “organizers of the Chicago Dyke March infamously removed participants who were waving a Pride flag adorned with a Star of David on the grounds that the symbol ‘made people feel unsafe.’”
In February, the Israel Defense Forces shared with the New York Post documents it had recovered demonstrating that Hamas had tortured and executed members it suspected of homosexuality and other moral offenses in conflict with Islamist ideology.
Amit Benjamin, who is gay and a first sergeant major in the IDF, said during a visit to New York City for Pride month that “All the ‘queers for Gaza’ need to open their eyes. Hamas kills gays … kills lesbians … queers cannot exist in Gaza.”
The post Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.
Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.
Iran’s parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.
“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the IAEA said on X.
Diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors’ safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.
Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“[Grossi] reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,” the IAEA said.
The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tonnes of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.
That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.
As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries’ declarations. But the bombing of Iran’s facilities has now muddied the waters.
“We cannot afford that … the inspection regime is interrupted,” Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.
The post IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on first appeared on Algemeiner.com.