September 9, 2019
My good friend, Yehuda HaCohen, has reached out to me, as you will see below, to find Canadian signatories to support Canadian students who wish to join the Canadian Zionist Federation’s delegation to the upcoming Congress in 2020. These students are Canadian members of the organization LAVI and others that make up the umbrella organization called The Alliance for a new Zionist Vision, a true Zionist organization in the tradition of Chaim Wiezmann.
The World Zionist Congress is still extremely important in the overall network of Jewish organizations. It commands not only respect but has enormous resources at its disposal. It has in recent years also caught the attention of pseudo-Zionist organizations like JStreet and other New Israel Fund funded entities. The Zionist movement is in need of new blood and fresh vision, and organizations like LAVI, and Kuma have banded together to put forward a slate of young candidates, true Zionists, who are not afraid of speaking the truth about Jewish indigeneity in and legal rights to the Land of Israel. Please join me in supporting them by adding your signature to the petition to help accredit them as Canadian delegates to the World Zionist Congress in 2020. Sign up here.
Sincerely,
Irving Weisdorf,
President & CEO
Following our movement's success five years ago in the American Zionist Movement elections and at the World Zionist Congress (where we passed a contested resolution declaring the Jewish people indigenous to the Land of Israel), our students in Canada have decided to join the Canadian Zionist Federation and its delegation to the upcoming congress in 2020. The federation is happy to accept our movement as a member so long as we can garner 300 signatures on our petition.
I'm reaching out to you to ask that you help us by signing our petition (requires a $1 donation to our educational efforts with Jewish students on Canadian campuses) and urging your friends and family to do the same. Your help with this would really go a long way in making sure our voice is heard at both the Canadian Zionist Federation and at the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem next year.
Below is our movement's platform and videos from the previous election. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks so much,
Yehuda
1. MOVING FORWARD
Zionism has been the most successful revolutionary movement in human history. If Zionism were merely a movement aimed at solving a “Jewish problem” through the establishment of a state, then today we should acknowledge ourselves to be post-Zionists. But if the cultivation of our soil, the revival of our language, the ingathering of our exiles and the attainment of Jewish independence merely represent important phases in a larger revolution, then Zionism must still hold relevance for us. In order to effectively advance Jewish history to the next stage, the Alliance for New Zionist Vision will help the World Zionist Organization to identify the next goals of Jewish liberation and to initiate programs that encourage self-proclaimed Zionists to examine their authentic national aspirations, past achievements and what remains to be accomplished. We cannot be satisfied with the outdated paradigms and successes of previous generations but must create a new Zionist vision relevant to today.
2. YOUTH
We are the only list participating in the American Zionist Movement elections exclusively running the young activists currently at the forefront of today’s battles over Jewish identity and Israel’s legitimacy on campuses. In order for world Jewry to effectively confront the greatest threats of our generation, those of us on the frontlines must have a meaningful voice at the World Zionist Congress and in the direction of these efforts. Because we are committed to making our voices heard, we will fight to redirect Zionist funds to ensure they reach those truly in the trenches of the current conflicts of the Jewish people worldwide. We will also push for greater transparency to ensure that the monies graciously donated to Jewish causes actually reach their intended destinations.
3. PARADIGM SHIFT
The Alliance for New Zionist Vision encourages Jews to break free from the narrow confines of outdated conceptual paradigms – left vs. right, religious vs. secular, Jewish vs. democratic – that have brought the Jewish people and State of Israel to an impasse. We wish to explore outside-the-box solutions to the Middle East conflict and to empower our youth to develop their own Zionist ideologies without fear of disapproval or consequences from the establishment.
4. IDENTITY
The Jewish people constitutes not a religious sect but a proud ancient people with a rich culture and powerful spiritual traditions. The Alliance for New Zionist Vision senses that throughout the Diaspora many authentic aspects of our identity have been stolen from us or diluted to the point of becoming barely recognizable. We call this process the “colonization of Jewish identity.” As such, we will fight to expose the “colonized” elements of our identity and to promote a deeper connection to authentic Hebrew culture. As two of the key partners in the ANZV are successful grassroots educational movements, we aim to influence the World Zionist Organization to adopt our already-proven methods for creating educational programs that inspire young Jews to become active characters in the story of their people.
5. INDIGENEITY
We will fight for recognition of the Jewish people as an indigenous people to the Land of Israel, including the legal ramifications that such recognition holds in international law. The Alliance for New Zionist Vision will demand that the World Zionist Organization – as a representative body of the Jewish people – make an official declaration that the Jews are an indigenous people in our homeland.
6. JUSTICE
We are fighting for a change in Israel advocacy on college campuses and in the media in order to emphasize Jewish rights, the justice of our cause and our people’s incredible story in place of the superficial messages being promoted over the past decade that have clearly failed to impress anyone outside the traditional pro-Israel choir. An authentic Zionist narrative based on deep ideological foundations and historic vision would express our incredible story in a manner compelling enough to successfully compete with the rhetoric of Israel’s enemies. But because the Jewish establishment, Israel advocacy organizations and official Zionist institutions seem unwilling to advance such a revolutionary message, it has fallen to those of us with successful field experience shifting the positions of anti-Israel activists to introduce fresh approaches capable of turning the tide in the battle for Israel’s image.
7. EDUCATION
The Alliance for a New Zionist Vision views the apathy and passivity of American Jews to be a point of utmost concern. We will therefore fight to redirect the emphasis of Diaspora Jewish education towards promoting a sense of peoplehood and national consciousness. A necessary first step in accomplishing this shift will be to have that the World Zionist Organization play an active role in reducing tuition and offering subsidies at Jewish schools so that every Diaspora child have access to a quality Jewish education. We also aim to promote creative educational programming and hands-on activities that develop within students a deep emotional connection to the historic aspirations of the Jewish people.
8. JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD
The Alliance for a New Zionist Vision first and foremost views the Jewish people as one large collective family with a shared history, common destiny and mutual responsibility. While we recognize the sociological realities within the Jewish world and seek to be inclusive of diverse streams of thought, we relate to the prevalent labels – Reform, Orthodox, Conservative, etc. – as of only secondary importance in comparison to identification with the Nation of Israel and participation in its historic mission. Recognizing open and honest dialogue between factions as the only true path to building a holistic and unified vision for the Jewish people in this generation, the ANZV will work within the World Zionist Organization to promote brotherhood, mutual respect and a sense of collective responsibility between Jews from opposing ideological camps.
9. THE HOMELAND
The Alliance for New Zionist Vision is committed to the principle that our homeland must not and cannot be divided. We act to ensure the natural right of all Jews to live wherever they wish within an independent State of Israel between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River, while equally striving to recognize and act upon our obligation to ensure justice, freedom, equality and a sense of enfranchisement for all inhabitants of our country, Jew and non-Jew alike. Today it is clear that we are beyond merely resisting the partition of our homeland. Rather than defend an unsustainable status quo, we aim to focus our efforts on creating within our homeland a uniquely Hebrew civilization that will apply our deepest concepts of justice and morality to the complexities of modern nationhood, serving as a beacon of light to humankind.
Help us achieve our goals and engage young Canadian Jews in the upcoming World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem. Please sign our petition. Thank you!