World Labor Zionist Alliance: Reform, Don’t Retreat — Responding to Yair Lapid’s Withdrawal from the World Zionist Organization
The following statement was released by Brit Etz: The World Zionist Alliance of the Labor Movement
November 7, 2025, Tel Aviv
Kenneth Bob, The Global Chair of the World Labor Zionist Alliance, released the following statement:
The World Labor Zionist Alliance expresses deep concern over the decision by Yesh Atid Chair Yair Lapid to withdraw his party from the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and its affiliated national institutions.
While we share many of Lapid’s criticisms of the outdated structures, political appointments, and ethical lapses within these institutions, withdrawal is not the answer. These bodies must indeed modernize to meet the challenges of 2025 — but they remain essential arenas of influence that shape Israel–Diaspora relations, land use, education, and the moral direction of the Zionist movement.
The recent Yair Netanyahu appointment scandal, a disgraceful example of political cronyism and contempt for public trust, underscores precisely why reform is so urgent. Yet this incident should serve as a call to action — not a pretext for abandonment. Surrendering our seats at the table only empowers those who would use these institutions to entrench inequality, expand settlements, and divert public resources for partisan gain.
Lapid’s move is both populist and inconsistent. After years of active participation in these same institutions Yesh Atid now walks away precisely when they are well-positioned with the appointment of MK Meir Cohen as chairman of KKL–JNF on its behalf to help address the task of reform, as well as carrying out the agenda of the liberal Zionist bloc. Moral purity achieved through withdrawal is a hollow victory when it hands control to the right.
The strategic danger of this decision cannot be overstated. The right-wing bloc, including ultra-Orthodox and far-right factions, continues in its attempts to dominate the national institutions. In contrast, the liberal camp — though seemingly outnumbered — succeeded at the Zionist Congress in passing critical resolutions promoting gender equality, religious pluralism, Israeli civil society and limits on the use of WZO and KK”l-JNF budgets for right wing settlement initiatives. These achievements prove that progress is possible from within, through persistence and coalition-building.
Moreover, this withdrawal risks alienating our Diaspora partners, who still see our work within the national institutions as a vital bridge between Jewish communities worldwide and the State of Israel. Turning our backs on these institutions sends a damaging message to our allies who remain deeply invested — morally and financially — in shaping Israel’s democratic future.
Together with our partners in the liberal-Zionist bloc, the World Labor Zionist Alliance remains committed to the difficult but essential dual tasks of reforming the national institutions and ensuring that the values of democracy, equality, and peace remain at the heart of the Zionist enterprise.
