Twenty-Eighth Congress
Jerusalem, 1972

A number of changes were implemented in the elections to the Congress, amongst them:

• The abolition of the shekel, the payment of which had entitled subscribers to membership of the WZO and voting rights in elections to the Congress.
• The new system permitted the operation of a variety of electoral systems in each territorial Federation, while, in Israel, the Knesset elections were used to determine the respective size of the party delegations to the Congress.
• Other changes included the acceptance of various international Jewish bodies to the WZO such as the World Federation of Sephardi Communities (although without full voting rights).

Amongst the issues discussed at the Congress were:

• aliyah from Western countries;
• the opening of immigration from the Soviet Union;
• and Jewish education in the Diaspora.

Attempts to have Zionist office holders commit themselves to aliyah after two terms of office (eight years) failed to win the necessary support from delegates. However, it did place the ideological question of Zionist fulfilment [hagshama] on the agenda of the movement.

Louis Pincus was reelected as Chairperson of the Zionist executive.

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