The Zionist Congress, which convened online in Jerusalem this week, is the supreme ideological and policy-making body of the World Zionist Organization. It convenes once every five years. This gathering represents the entire political and religious spectrum of the Zionist movement.

At the end of an election campaign that lasted more than a year and after the signing of a coalition agreement  by all the factions within the framework of the 38th  World Zionist Congress, Yaakov Hagoel was elected to head the World Zionist Organization (WZO), the umbrella organization of the National Institutions. Similarly, after the election of the members of the executive of the World Zionist Organization, Avraham Duvdevani, the outgoing WZO Chairman was chosen to head the Keren Kayemeth le’Israel/Jewish National Fund(KKL/JNF).

Yaakov Hagoel was born in 1971 in Tel Aviv. Prior to his military service, Hagoel volunteered for a year of service in the town of Ofakim after which he enlisted in the Nahal Army Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces(IDF).At the end of his regular service, he joined the reserve forces in the Gaza Division. Hagoel holds an L.L.B.

Hagoel serves as a member of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors, and also serves as a co-chair of the  Jewish Agency’s  Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a member of the Board of Trustees of Keren Hayesod/United Israel Appeal and a member of the Council for the Commemoration of Theodor Herzl and the Zeev Jabotinsky Council.He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Ariel University. Hagoel also serves as a member of the Yad Vashem Council. In August 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the World Likud.

For the first time in the history of the Zionist Movement, the World Zionist Congress convened online via a special broadcast center in Jerusalem.

720 delegates and observers from over 30 countries participated between 20-22 October in three days of discussions. The sessions took place in the afternoons synchronized with time zones in Israel, North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

During the Congress, the theme of which was ‘Mutual Responsibility and Aliyah (Immigration) to Israel’, several issues relating to the Jewish People have been deliberated: the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on Jewish communities worldwide, preparation for a wave of immigration to Israel as a result of this worldwide crisis, battling growing antisemitism and developing settlement in Israel.

The Zionist Congress is the supreme ideological and policy-making body of the World Zionist Organization. It convenes once every five years in Jerusalem. This gathering represents the entire political and religious spectrum of the Zionist movement.

The World Zionist Congress has taken place since 1897 and has never been cancelled except on two occasions during both world wars.