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Proposal to elevate Netanyahu’s son shatters fragile concord at World Zionist Congress
JERUSALEM — An early sign of moderation and compromise among the delegates here this week for the 39th World Zionist Congress appeared to shatter late Wednesday amid revelations that supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to install his son Yair in a key leadership role.
The drama is roiling the high-stakes gathering that is often described as the “parliament of the Jewish people,” taking place against the backdrop of heightened antisemitism around the world and war in the region.
Delegates from more than 40 nations have converged in Jerusalem, with the U.S. delegation the largest in the congress’ history: 155 delegates and about 100 alternates, representing 22 states and a wide age range (18-87), including 75 rabbis of various streams.
The congress, which opened Tuesday, is expected to determine the allocation of more than $1 billion annually toward Zionist institutions, appoint the leadership for the movement, and set the tone for Israel-Diaspora relations.
In his opening remarks, Israeli President Isaac Herzog underscored the enduring purpose of Zionism in an era of rising antisemitism.
“Those who once called us ‘Yids’ or ‘kikes’ now call us ‘Zios’… These ‘Zios’ are us,” he said. He invoked the founding vision of Theodor Herzl for a pluralistic Zionist movement that gathers multiple voices under one roof.
Yet beneath that message of unity, fissures have been visible, perhaps most notably in the absence of Netanyahu, marking the first time since Israel’s founding that a sitting premier has skipped the gathering.
Senior delegates said his absence reflected friction inside World Likud and his long-running dispute with its chair U.N. envoy Danny Danon, with whom he has sparred over internal appointments, as well as concern he would face a hostile reception from delegates.
Kenneth Bob, newly elected chairman of the World Labor Zionist Alliance, said that given that “half the congress are not fans,” Netanyahu’s decision to skip the convening was unsurprising.
“He’s afraid of the response he’d get from the delegates. He knows he’ll be greeted rudely,” he said.
But Netanyahu’s presence is still being felt. As delegates deliberate policy and funding, the congress is also navigating intense power-sharing negotiations. A deal reportedly struck between center-left and center-right Zionist blocs to rotate leadership of major institutions was thrown into jeopardy after word emerged that Yair Netanyahu — son of the prime minister — would take a senior role at the WZO. That revelation sparked the collapse of the agreement and forced the extension of the congress by two weeks.
Yair Netanyahu is a divisive figure in Israel. Unlike many other Israelis his age, 34, he spent the war living in Miami and did not serve in the reserves during the war in Gaza. He is known for his social media posts backing his father’s politics and advancing far-right conspiracy theories.
Yair Netanyahu with his father, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Jan. 23, 2020. (Alexei NikolskyTASS via Getty Images)
The deal that collapsed was notable for excluding only a single party from power-sharing: Otzma Yehudit, run by the far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, currently Israel’s national security minister. The congress is the first to include delegations representing extremist parties.
The deal was also notable because it would have installed Doron Perez as the World Zionist Organization’s next chair. Perez’s son Daniel was murdered on Oct. 7 and his body was held hostage in Gaza until earlier this month.
Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, which represents U.S. Jewry at the congress, said the days of coalition bargaining had exposed familiar frictions among religious, right-wing, and liberal Zionist factions over control of budgets, appointments, and ideological priorities within the national institutions. Referring to the negotiations process, he quipped that it recalled the adage about how “laws are like sausages.”
“Enjoy the end product but not how they’re made. You don’t want to see them shechting the cow in the slaughterhouse,” he said, using the Hebrew term for ritual slaughter.
Block added that he hoped the final agreement would lead to “more involvement of the Diaspora communities” and “a greater voice for Diaspora Jewry” in the WZO and the national institutions.
This year’s elections brought a surge of ultra-Orthodox representation: Eretz HaKodesh captured 19 seats, giving it leverage in committee appointments and budgets. The growing presence of haredi parties — many of whose members historically rejected the Zionist label — has upended the traditional ideological balance.
Bob said the development is “frustrating because they have not identified as Zionist,” adding that while inclusion was welcome, “it has to be with the right intentions.” He cited alleged irregularities in delegate elections as “really shocking.” (Voters had to certify themselves as Zionists to cast ballots.)
Tensions deepened Wednesday ahead of planned protests over Israel’s forthcoming draft of haredi Orthodox men into the military, which prompted the congress to reschedule some sessions.
Many delegates spoke of a movement in flux.
“The Congress has become more like Knesset-style arm-wrestling — who’s bigger, who writes the narrative, who gets another seat,” said Gusti Yehoshua-Braverman, a senior executive at the World Zionist Organization. “We need a new charter for Zionism that restores a shared sense of purpose and updates our values for the realities of today’s Jewish world.”
Beneath the jousting, delegates were voting on a set of resolutions, some with practical consequences and others whose impact is symbolic. One such resolution calls for an official state inquiry into Oct. 7, a move supported by a majority of Israelis that Netanyahu has rebuffed. Another that passed, following a reportedly heated debate, bars the World Zionist Organization from using its funds to support Jewish settlement in Gaza.
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Portuguese artists pull out of Jerry Seinfeld-headlined festival
(JTA) — Several Portuguese artists have dropped out of a comedy festival in Lisbon headlined by Jerry Seinfeld, citing their support for Palestinians and implying opposition to Seinfeld’s support for Israel.
At least six acts over recent days have canceled their appearances at the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest, a new international comedy festival in the Portuguese capital. The event from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 has advertised that it will host Seinfeld’s first live appearance in Portugal.
Though none of the artists who withdrew mentioned Seinfeld by name, some hinted at a boycott against his pro-Israel views. The Jewish comedian has become one of Hollywood’s most prominent advocates for Israel since October 2023.
Actress and comedian Inês Aires Pereira announced on Instagram on Saturday that “one of the names” featured at the festival “persistently defends ideas and acts that I consider indefensible,” adding, “We cannot relativize or normalize a genocide.”
The comedy duo Cebola Mol posted a graphic of themselves with a watermelon, widely recognized as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians. “We will celebrate justice, freedom and joy with you on another occasion,” they said on Instagram.
The festival announced on Friday that performances by the groups Tributo Pop and Conjunto Cuca Monga were also canceled, but did not provide reasons. Two other acts, comedian Pedro Tochas and visual artist Vhils, shared their cancellations on Instagram without further details.
Seinfeld has aligned himself with Israel during its current conflict in Gaza, following decades of largely avoiding commenting on political issues. He visited Israel in December 2023 to meet with the families of hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7 of that year. Since then, he has attracted attention for a series of dismissive remarks toward pro-Palestinian advocates.
During an appearance last year at Duke University, Seinfeld compared pro-Palestinian activists with the Ku Klux Klan, saying, “The Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ OK, that’s honest.”
Representatives of Seinfeld and producers of the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The post Portuguese artists pull out of Jerry Seinfeld-headlined festival appeared first on The Forward.
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UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements
(JTA) —
The United Kingdom, France and Canada will ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament on Tuesday, explaining that all such communities were deemed by his country to be illegal.
The declaration exacerbated the rising tensions riling the traditionally strong Israel-U.K. alliance. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that these steps stoked antisemitism against British Jews in an on-camera statement to reporters in Jerusalem.
Sa’ar charged that the measures were a politicized hostile action deliberately taken ahead of Friday’s Jewish New Year holiday, with an eye toward influencing the country’s Oct. 27 elections.
Israel, he said, is responding by closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem that services Palestinians. It will also remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat and halt the British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. He added that Israel would bar the entry of 12 British politicians and other nationals involved in anti-Israel activity.
France and Canada have also announced a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He noted that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In the same address, Miliband affirmed Israel’s right to exist, reflected on his own Jewish roots and rejected the notion that there was a connection between the policy steps against West Bank settlement activity and the safety of British Jews.
What is motivating the U.K., Miliband said, is “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community” as well as Israel’s “clear intent to bury the Palestinian state.”
In response, he said, the U.K. “will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied [Palestinian] territory” as part of a “new comprehensive sanctions regime” that will be put in place within nine months.
This will include, he said, “action against specific companies and individuals who provide services, such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion.”
To those who “finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of U.K. sanctions,” Miliband warned.
Miliband clarified that the ban would not affect the export of religious items or life-saving Israeli medications. He explained that trade with the settlements was minimal and that the greater impact would be the sanctions on services.
As part of declaring the ban, Miliband said that the British government is also adopting the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion that all Israeli settlement activity over the pre-1967 border was illegal.
But others in Parliament pushed back against Miliband’s declaration. MP Richard Tice of Britain’s right-wing Reform party said that the sanctions were a grave mistake that would “embolden the scourge of antisemitism against British Jews on British streets,” endanger ties with the United States and lead to “tit for tat” sanctions from Israel.
Miliband shot back that “no British Jew is responsible for the policies of the Israeli government and it behooves all of us to make sure that there can be no confusion about that,” saying that Tice’s statement “fell foul” of that goal.
The U.K. action is the latest escalation in tensions between Israel and the Labour-led British government headed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took power in July.
The prior government, led by former Labour Premier Keir Starmer, had already angered Israel by recognizing Palestinian statehood in 2025, suspending licenses for the export of arms to Israel and freezing talks toward a free-trade agreement.
France and Canada are also announcing a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He explained that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In concert with Miliband’s appearance at Parliament, Britain and 11 other countries issued a joint statement pledging “their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law.”
Those other countries were Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The 12-country bloc said it was taking this step to maintain the viability of the two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, describing the situation in the West Bank as “rapidly deteriorating.”
In its statement, the bloc stressed that it was taking this step amid an “unprecedented level of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project.” That project is seen as cutting through land that would render a Palestinian state unviable.
The post UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements appeared first on The Forward.
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California Gov. Newsom, a presidential hopeful, slams Netanyahu and AIPAC in PBS interview
(JTA) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a 2028 presidential hopeful, ventured farther than ever in his criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a weekend interview that delved into the Democratic Party’s relationship with Israel.
“I think it’s overwhelmingly opposed to the current regime in Israel,” Newsom said of the party, in a PBS News Hour interview with Amna Nawaz.
Pressed by Nawaz on divisions among his colleagues on Israel, Newsom denied that the subject is “even controversial anymore,” stressing that “the condemnation of what Bibi Netnayahu’s doing is almost universal.” The governor slammed the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and condemned the settler violence that has expanded in the West Bank.
“We want a democratic and secure Israel, and we want a secure and democratic Palestinian state as well right next door,” Newsom said, adding that Netanyahu has proved counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution.
Though he repeatedly maintained that Democrats are not divided on Israel, the governor acknowledged that “some of the language” by fellow Democrats “has been weaponized.” Certain “aspects of rhetoric” from individual candidates, he added, are on “the spectrum of concern,” Newsom said.
A number of candidates from the party’s far left place most if not all of the blame on Israel for a war in Gaza that has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. and downplay the role of Hamas in launching the war with the Oct. 7, 2023 raid inside Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were abducted. Newsom’s rhetoric is of a piece with party moderates who are critical of the Israeli government but who call for a secure Israel, reject Hamas and who resist pressure from the left to call Israel’s actions “genocide.”
Newsom nonetheless insisted that the party is unified on the issue. “But I think universally, everyone agrees, even if you don’t think it’s genocide, that it’s been a moral catastrophe,” he said of the war in Gaza. “The vast majority of us also agree about the atrocities on Oct. 7th and how horrific and unacceptable it was, and the terrorism that was perpetrated by Hamas.”
Newsom was among the many U.S. politicians to visit Israel in October 2023, meeting with survivors and families impacted by the attacks.
During a March book tour, Newsom sparked a backlash when he said that some people were referring to Israel “appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.” He quickly walked back these remarks, telling Politico that he had used the term “in the context of the direction that Bibi is going.”
“I revere the state of Israel,” he declared at the time.
The governor warned, however, that if Netanyahu proceeds in the direction of West Bank annexation, apartheid could become “a word you may hear others use.”
In addition to amplifying his condemnation of Netanyahu this weekend, Newsom also addressed the fact that fewer Democrats are accepting funds from political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group.
As for Newsom himself, Track AIPAC, an organization that compiles Federal Election Commission data to flag pro-Israel campaign contributions, did not log any such donations to the likely presidential candidate. But the group did flag him as “pro-Israel.”
“It’s a minority of Democrats that are accepting AIPAC,” the governor said, noting a “dramatic change” over the last couple years.
“The vast majority of Democrats I talk to, even Democrats in the past that have in the past have taken AIPAC money, are pledging not to now,” Newsom added. “That’s more of a mainstream position, interestingly, within the Democratic Party.”
The post California Gov. Newsom, a presidential hopeful, slams Netanyahu and AIPAC in PBS interview appeared first on The Forward.
