In a moment that blended historical reflection with unapologetic conviction, World WIZO President Anat Vidor told the 2026 Jerusalem Post New York Conference that Zionism is not a slogan or an abstract ideal, but a lived responsibility: “It is the realization that no one is going to do it besides you.”
In conversation with Content Strategist Inbal Ann Bouskila, Vidor presented the Women’s International Zionist Organization as far more than a civil society body. “We are not just an NGO,” she said, drawing a clear distinction between traditional nonprofit work and Zionist infrastructure for nation building. “WIZO helped build the foundations of the State of Israel and its social infrastructure. We see ourselves as responsible for what happens here.”
Vidor traced WIZO’s origins to the early Zionist movement, arguing that its mission was shaped not only by the understanding that women must be equal, but by the practical needs of building a state. “To build a country, you have to train women in agriculture, create education systems and daycare centers, build basic services and absorb waves of Aliyah,” she said. “And then you must adapt to the needs as they arise. We have been Israel’s civil front for 105 years.”
She described WIZO’s work as spanning social welfare, early childhood education, immigration absorption, women, families and communities. “For the past two and a half years, we have again been managing massive essential civilian services during wartime. This is capacity, and this is Zionism. We do whatever is needed.”
Rejecting partisan framing while embracing political influence, Vidor stressed WIZO’s ability to operate across governments. “We are political, because Zionism is a political movement,” she said. “But we are not partisan; that is what allows us to work with every government.”
Pointing to WIZO’s footprint in Israel, more than 300 institutions and thousands of employees, Vidor said the secret of WIZO’s endurance lies in its global federations. “They are not just donors,” she explained. “They are WIZO’s assembly of representatives. They elect the Israeli Executive Board, vote on budgets and approve work plans. This connection between the Zionist Jewish world and the work being done in Israel reminds us why we are here.”
Concluding her remarks, Vidor issued a direct challenge to Jewish communal leaders: “Be the Zionist in every organization you are involved in. Zionism is responsibility. Even if you are in the minority, remind people why we gathered in the first place. Do not just sit on boards. Influence them. Your communities need resilience, not stagnation. The Zionist movement was once a minority among Jews, yet it created a state. You, as leaders, can change the future of your communities by taking responsibility. This is the time.”
This article was written in collaboration with World WIZO