Nachum welcomed Rabbi Doron Perez, Director General of World Mizrachi back to JM in the AM for a preview of major World Mizrachi events coming up in 5783.
MIZRACHI CELEBRATES 120 YEARS SERVING AS ORTHODOX JEWISH VOICE IN WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS AT 125TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS IN BASEL
BASEL, Switzerland – World Mizrachi recently celebrated its 120th year representing Orthodox Judaism in the international Zionist movement. The event took place immediately following the World Zionist Congress (WZC) 125th anniversary gala in the same place halls where Theodore Herzl first opened its inaugural 1897 session at the Stadtcasino Basel.
World Mizrachi is the longest-standing movement still representing its constituents at the Congress, commonly referred to as the ‘Parliament of the Jewish People.’
“We were thrilled to join with the united Zionist movement in celebration of its rich history of partnership with diaspora Jewry,” said Mizrachi Chief Executive Rav Doron Perez. “It’s humbling to think this same concert hall hosted the first debates on the idea of a Jewish state, in a world where Europe was at the center of the Torah-world, and just 125 years later Israel’s leading the charge in Torah learning, and in impacting so many other areas of international society.”
The Mizrachi event, emceed by Roi Abecassis, Mizrachi’s appointee who leads the WZO Center for Religious Affairs, was joined by delegates including more than 100 representing religious-Zionist communities across the Jewish world.
Israel Prize laureate and renowned educator and speaker Miriam Peretz delivered the keynote address highlighting World Mizrachi’s importance in fostering a strong religious-Zionist movement made up of individuals with strong value-based Jewish identities.
Attendees then heard from ranking leaders of Israel’s National Institutions including Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – the Jewish National Fund Chairman Avraham Duvdevani, World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov HaGoel, and incoming Jewish Agency For Israel Chairman Doron Almog about the important role the representative body has played in being the first and largest religious-Zionist movement and in binding the Zionist movement to Jewish faith and spirituality since shortly after its first plenaries.
Gael Grunewald Mizrachi’s appointee who serves as the World Zionist Organization’s vice chairman and leads its educational arm also shared similar sentiments.
“As the longest standing member organization of the ‘Parliament of the Jewish People’ we see it not only as our responsibility to represent the Torah values of our Orthodox constituents in Israel’s National Institutions but also to do everything we can to ensure the continued unity of the World Zionist Movement, that’s why we’ve always been one of the loudest voices in support of a wall-to-wall agreement in every Congress,” said Grunewald.
Mizrachi is the global Religious Zionist movement, spreading Torat Eretz Yisrael across the world and strengthening the bond between the international Jewish community and the State of Israel. Mizrachi has represented the Torah voice and the Orthodox movement in the World Zionist Organization for 120 years. Based in Jerusalem and with branches across the globe, Mizrachi – an acronym for merkaz ruchani (spiritual center) – was founded in 1902. For more information visit www.mizrachi.org.
