The Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO; ') is a volunteer organization dedicated to

social welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

History

WIZO was founded in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 7 July 1920 by

Rebecca Sieff Rebecca Dora Sieff () born Rebecca Doro Marks (23 February 1890 – 8 January 1966) was a British Zionist who was one of the founders of the Women's International Zionist Organization. Life Sieff was born in Leeds in 1890. Her parents were Hann ...

, Dr. Vera Weizmann (wife of

's first president, Dr.

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

), Edith Eder, Romana Goodman, and Henrietta Irwell to provide community services for the residents of

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. Among WIZO's early social welfare projects in Mandatory Palestine were the establishment of Tipat Halav well-baby clinics and clothing distribution centers, many of which are still in operation today. WIZO opened the country's first day care center in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

in 1927. WIZO branches opened across Europe, such as that run by Julia Batino in Macedonia, but many were closed down in the wake of

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupation and the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Branches in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

continued to operate during the war. In 1949, after the establishment of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, WIZO moved its headquarters to Israel and Sieff became president of the world WIZO organization. In 1966 Sieff died, she was replaced by

Rosa Ginossar Rosa Ginossar (1890-1979) was an Israeli lawyer and women's rights activist. She was the second woman lawyer in Mandatory Palestine, after Freda Slutzkin) and the first practicing female attorney in Israel. She was president of WIZO from 1966 ...

, who had been acting President since 1963. Other past presidents include Raya Jaglom and

Michal Har'el Michal Har'el (; née Herison; 1931 – 2 March 2012), was the second Miss Israel, a women's rights activist, and one of three lifetime honorary presidents of Women's International Zionist Organization. Biography Michal Herison (later Har'el) wa ...

, former

Miss Israel Miss Israel (also referred to as , , ) was a national beauty pageant in Israel. The pageant was founded in 1950, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History In the late 1920s, a "Esther, Queen Esther Beauty Pageant" was held in Tel Avi ...

and wife of Israeli politician

Yitzhak Moda'i Yitzhak Moda'i (; 17 January 1926 – 14 May 1998) was an Israeli politician who served five terms in the Knesset for Likud and then the New Liberal Party over the course of a 20-year career. Biography Yitzhak Madzovitch (later Moda'i) w ...

. Presidents Evelyn Sommer (WIZO) and Ilana Ben Ami (WIZO Israel) tried to negotiate with Mexican president

Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was a Mexican lawyer, academic, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 57th president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Previously, ...

in 1975 to dissuade him from condemning

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

as racism during the World Conference on Women in Mexico. Despite Echeverría's promises,

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

, after the impulse of Arab countries and the support of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

countries and the Soviet bloc, adopted Resolution 3379 against Zionism. Almost 20 years passed before the UN Resolution 46/86 revoked the 1975 determination. In 2008, WIZO, together with two other women's organizations, received the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for its lifetime achievements and special contribution to society and the State of Israel.

Political activity in Israel

WIZO formed a party and ran for

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

in Israel's first elections in 1949, receiving 1.2% of the vote. It won one seat and was represented by Rachel Cohen-Kagan, chairwoman of WIZO at the time. Cohen-Kagan later ran in elections for the fifth Knesset as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

(though she was a member of the group that broke away to form the Independent Liberals).

Today

Today, WIZO runs 180 day care centers in Israel, caring for 14,000 children of working mothers, new immigrants and needy families. The organization also runs summer camps, courses for single-parent families and therapeutic frameworks for children removed from their homes by court order. WIZO is now the largest women's Zionist organization in the world. In 2008, 36 member countries sent delegates to Israel to celebrate the organization's 88th birthday. The current World WIZO president is Anat Vidor, who replaced

Esther Mor Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and mar ...

in January 2024.

References

External links

Official website (in English)
{{Authority control Jewish organizations Organizations established in 1920 Women's organizations based in Israel Israel Prize recipients that are organizations Israel Prize for lifetime achievement & special contribution to society recipients Women's rights organizations Defunct political parties in Israel International women's organizations Jewish women's organizations World Zionist Organization

History

Political activity in Israel

Today

See also

References

External links