Israel News
Yair Netanyahu Blocked From Top WZO Leadership Role
Opposition factions within the World Zionist Organization rejected Yair Netanyahu’s candidacy, as Likud boycotted the leadership elections.
Yair Netanyahu (Flash90)
Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was removed Sunday from the list of candidates for senior leadership positions in the World Zionist Organization (WZO), after sharp opposition from opposition factions inside the movement.
The WZO, a historic body that oversees Zionist and Jewish organizations around the world, is holding an online vote over the next two days to approve its new executive leadership. But the Likud party, which represents Israel’s ruling coalition in the organization, says it will boycott the process.
“The Likud is boycotting the votes and did not submit names because we will not allow others to dictate to us who to appoint,” said Minister Miki Zohar, who also chairs World Likud.
The political dispute began last week when Zohar reached a deal with opposition parties over how to divide the organization’s top posts. As part of that agreement, Yair Netanyahu’s name was included on the list. But when the planned appointment became public, left-wing representatives withdrew from the deal, saying they would not support the prime minister’s son. The vote, originally set for Wednesday, was postponed for two weeks. When the new list was submitted Sunday, Yair Netanyahu’s name was no longer there.
Under the current proposal, Rabbi Doron Perez, head of the World Mizrachi movement and father of Capt. Daniel Perez, who was killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, will become the next WZO chairman. After two and a half years, he will rotate positions with the current chairman, Yaakov Hagoel.
Zohar, however, insists that “nothing is closed” and says the Likud still wants to negotiate. The party released a statement accusing left-wing groups of breaking tradition and acting unilaterally. “The entire right-wing bloc insists that negotiations must return immediately to reach a consensus, as has always been the practice,” the statement said.
Likud warned that approving a one-sided deal could “paralyze the national institutions” that work with the Israeli government. The vote began Sunday morning and will close Tuesday.
