Thirtieth Congress
Jerusalem, 1982

The major issues that engaged Congress were concerned with Zionist organization and structure and a reassessment of its ideology. In particular, the question of the WZO's relationship with the Jewish Agency occupied the time of the Congress.

The "non-Zionists" (fund-raisers), who composed 50% of the Jewish Agency, had - following the "Caeseria Process" - signed the "Jerusalem Program", thereby announcing their acceptance of the Zionist platform. In practice, this meant that the Jewish Agency was to become involved in areas that had previously been the domain of the WZO -- namely aliyah and Jewish education in the Diaspora. This trend was to intensify following the so-called "Herzliya process", which began after the Congress and recommended significant changes in the organization, democratization and ideological orientation of the WZO-Jewish Agency.

A number of the sessions of the Congress were stormy, in particular the discussion devoted to the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank/Judea & Samaria and Gaza regions. The WZO Settlement Division had been associated with this work and certain delegates wished to put an end to this activity. In the end, a resolution was passed stating that Congress "agreed to disagree" on this question. However, it was decided that a joint committee of the Government and the WZO should discuss the exact locations of new settlements.

Arye Dulzin was reelected Chairperson of the executive.

For specific references to people and places mentionned in this file, please follow the relevant pointer
[Jabotinsky] [Ahad Ha'am] [Weizmann] [Ze'ev Jabotinsky] [Ruppin] [Sokolow]
[Henrietta Szold] [Chaim Arlosoroff] [David Ben Gurion]
[Berl Katznelson] [Yitshak Tabenkin] [Menachem Ussishkin]

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