Marching with Courage, Working for Change
Nomi Colton-Max — November 10, 2025
Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent NJN's views and policy positions.
A week ago, New Jewish Narrative board members and the rest of the Hatikvah Slate were elated with our successes on the resolutions that we passed at the World Zionist Congress (WZC). This success is a testament to our shared efforts and the progress we have made. As I sit here in Tel Aviv, I wanted to share more insights from the congress.
Hatikvah triumphed at the congress because of our work in and out of the formal sessions. On Tuesday, I helped lead a peace march from Jerusalem’s convention center to the Knesset. One hundred sixty delegates representing activists from every continent and several congressional slates were emboldened by the power of song and our “We Believe in Peace” t-shirts, printed in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Our march received honks of support from many. Yet (as you may also have seen on social media) our protest also faced attacks in front of the Knesset. As we dodged what was thrown at us (both the physical items and the verbal harassment), we moved closer together, tried our best not to engage, and found our way home.
This march and the power of our singing was on my mind during the ceremony for Yitzak Rabin’s 30th Yahrzeit, when the focus was on Rabin’s admonition of, “yes to peace and no to violence.” That is a value that we still uphold.
The congress was supposed to be three days long, but the effort by Likud to appoint Yair Netanyahu to a senior post derailed the final pieces of business. Thus, the congress was extended for two weeks, allowing us to ratify a new power sharing agreement which would not include Netanyahu. As of this writing, we do not yet have a new agreement, our negotiations were stymied by Yair Lapid’s unfortunate decision to back out of the National Institutions, including the WZO, Jewish Agency, and Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemet L’Israel. His move threatens to significantly weaken the influence of the Liberal Center Bloc in the next five years.
As head of the US chapter of Brit Etz—World Labour Zionist Alliance—which is connected to Yair Golan and the Democratim, I am deeply disappointed in Yair Lapid and my friends and colleagues in Yesh Atid. This disappointment is shared by many of us in our Bloc who had hoped for a different outcome. It comes as no secret that I also believe this system, created in Basel 128 years ago, needs to be updated. However, I think the best way for us to change this system is to be part of the leadership for the next five years. We must create change within the halls of power.
We at New Jewish Narrative, along with all our partners and friends at the WZC and in Israel, have the ometz (courage) to continue standing up for the values we believe in. Courage was a common theme as well at Rabin Square last Sunday night, and it is this ometz and hope that inspire me and our work every day.
