Time for a New Zionist Vision

By The Alliance for New Zionist Vision

One simple truth has redrawn the true political battle lines in Israel.  Zionism – as we have known it- has served its purpose, and it’s time is over.

The Zionism that emerged in the late 19th century was arguably the most successful national liberation movement in modern history. It took a people scattered across the globe and returned it to its ancestral homeland, revived its ancient language, built roads, towns, and infrastructure, and created a Jewish army and a vibrant economy.  It achieved its goal of political independence for a dispersed and oppressed people. But while Zionism’s ideological tools were essential to physically returning the Jewish people to our homeland, those same tools are inadequate for taking us to the next stage of our development. We are now in now in a “post-Zionist” age.

The death of traditional Zionism has cleared the stage for a bigger vision of Zionism’s future, and many different voices are now emerging that are giving shape to this bigger vision. The Alliance for a New Zionist Vision is a coalition of several  grassroots organizations in Israel and the Diaspora that joined together to inject this new vision into the World Zionist Organization.  Theodore Herzl created the WZO 118 years ago to bring the original Zionism to reality and it’s still the official body of the Zionist movement worldwide.  We are running a slate for representation at the upcoming World Zionist Congress (see details of the WZC here).

Like Moshe Feiglin, these new voices accept that the attainment of Jewish independence through Zionism was nothing more than an important phase in a much larger revolution. Rather than merely creating a safe haven or defensively resisting the partition of our homeland, we aim to focus our efforts on creating within our borders an authentically Jewish civilization that will apply our deepest concepts of justice and morality to the complexities of modern nationhood and will be the “Light unto the Nations” envisioned by our great leaders and thinkers throughout the generations.

Our slate’s goals include fighting for recognition of the Jewish people as indigenous to the Land of Israel, exposing the “colonized” elements of our identity to promote a deeper connection to our authentic culture, exploring outside-the-box solutions to the Middle East conflict.  We are fighting for a change in Israel advocacy on college campuses and in the media in order to emphasize Jewish rights, the justice of our cause, and the wondrous story of our people’s return to its native culture and homeland.

The WZC allocates a multimillion dollar budget, and it helps direct 100’s of millions of dollars of Jewish Agency funds.  The Alliance for New Zionist Vision is committed to ensuring that these funds reach those truly in the trenches of the current conflicts of the Jewish people worldwide, to reducing tuition and offering subsidies at Jewish schools, and to promoting creative hands-on educational programs that develop a deep emotional connection to our people and its historic aspirations.
Over the years, the WZO has become old and stodgy, lacking the vision and sense of purpose that are needed to  confront anti-Israeli attacks on campuses, BDS and the constant de-legitimization facing our people. It has become largely irrelevant to the current struggles of the Jewish people. It is time to let those with the passion, idealism, and vision impact the WZO agenda.

Unique in the history of the WZC, our slate is running EXCLUSIVELY young candidates. We, the Alliance for New Zionist Vision, are the collective voice of student leaders and young adults passionately engaged in our people’s national mission and struggles. We are the inspired young leadership that will forge a new vision for Zionism’s role in our people’s incredible story. We are the drive that will revitalize the World Zionist Congress and shape the decisions of the official Zionist movement.
Our generation isn’t satisfied with the outdated ideological paradigms of previous decades. What we represent is #NotYourMothersZionism.  Please join us in our efforts to impact the World Zionist Congress and vote for the ANZV today.

To learn more about us, read our platform, or have a representative come to your area, please visit our website.