October ended on the Jerusalem streets with thousands of visitors arriving from around the world.
The World Zionist Congress meets every five years in Jerusalem, Israel, for the largest global Zionist gathering. As in the past, this year’s WZC, held in the Jerusalem International Conference Center. Included were 543 delegates representing political factions and an overall total of 755 delegates.
The power of a story is felt more and more; emotion over facts has become our reality. This WZC took place 128 years after Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897.
The United States sent the largest group in WZCs’s history, with 155 delegates and about 100 alternates.
Ahead of the opening, the American Zionist Movement (AZM) hosted a luncheon for them to meet.
In the afternoon, a moment of silence was held in memory of the victims of the October 7 and fallen IDF soldiers as the plenary opened.
During the program, the parent of Omer Neutra spoke. The audience rose in support of them.
One of multiple speeches included Yaakov Hagoel, current chairman of the World Zionist Organization.
Sondra Sokal was one of the individuals given special recognition in the opening plenaries.
This jacket caught my attention.
Much of the action during the day was held in the halls. Those were the bags given to delegates.
People worked, mingled, and ate upstairs.
And downstairs.
For those not familiar with the building, these are the stairs.
For the evening opening event, the main auditorium, Ussishkin Hall, was again filled. President Isaac Herzog was seated with delegates and guests.
During his featured address in Hebrew, a short section was in English. “Zios” has become a new slang for Jews, but he commented with pride to those who come to Israel to build the homeland.
When I left at the end of the long first day, I planned to come back on Thursday.
But in Jerusalem, Israel, things do not always go as planned.
I had seen Miki Zohar on his phone. But only found out late Wednesday night that plans had changed, and on Wednesday, the WZC had their big meetings to vote, not on Thursday as originally planned. The controversy is too complicated for now, and others have written on it, but more photos from WZC – HERE.
Wednesday night, I went to a wedding officiated by Rabbi Shlomo Katz.
Guests from Australia and the US joined in the celebration.
What a wedding! With the desert as background as the sun was setting, a unique experience.
Oh, and the bride and groom rode away on the camel.
The camel and scene inspired the post for Lech Lecha Shabbat Shalom.
Too many Jerusalem streets are blocked and closed for light rail construction to count.
But on Thursday, the thousands arriving in Jerusalem for the anti-draft protest closed even more.
Since the WZC had moved their main events to Wednesday, Thursday, I was free to walk to Gan Sacher.
I had wanted to see if the piano was still yellow. The “You are not alone” is gone.
Alon Ohel is home, but the yellow remains.
New signs are up for new festivals in November, “TRACES” and “Autumn Cult.”
Always something new happening on the Jerusalem streets. With the Open Houses this weekend, tour groups were out discovering some local gems and their history.
The signs to prepare for winter are up. Only the weather for those thousands of visitors felt more like spring and summer.
It was a good week if you were not stuck in construction traffic or had your plans ruined due to closed roads and protests.