Before Israel had embassies, WIZO women practiced diplomacy in living rooms, opening doors closed to official delegations. Founded in 1920, the international Zionist women’s movement built its diplomatic reach alongside its work strengthening Israeli society.
WIZO founder Rebecca Sieff persuaded the Balfour family to shelter children rescued through the 1939 Kindertransport on their Scottish estate. Raya Jaglom, later World WIZO president, led a 1964 delegation behind the Iron Curtain, bringing Soviet Jews’ plight to international attention.
Pablo Picasso donated art to WIZO. Across Latin America, the movement supports public schools and social initiatives. Today, 38 federations and the European Council of WIZO Federations sustain its international reach.
WIZO became the first Zionist organization granted ECOSOC consultative status in 1959. Its openly Zionist identity is backed by the experience of one of Israel’s largest social welfare nonprofits. Where official Israeli diplomacy encounters resistance, its women’s networks open doors.
Following a UN event in New York, Vidor headed WIZO’s delegation to the UN Crime Congress in Abu Dhabi. On September 30, a week before the October 7 anniversary, WIZO convened an official side event on sexual violence and accountability in the heart of an Arab country, bringing together the Dinah Project, IJL, Generative AI for Good and the World Jewish Congress.
On October 12, “Trauma Recovery: Lessons and Ways Forward” takes this work to the UN in Geneva, led by Anne Argi, WIZO’s Head of Delegation there.
Vidor paid special tribute to Dr. Hava Bugajer, WIZO’s Head of Delegation to the UN in Vienna and the Abu Dhabi event’s initiator, as an inspiration.
She thanked Marcia Grossman of AJC, the new Israeli ambassador to the UN in Vienna, and Israel’s delegations in Geneva and Abu Dhabi. She also thanked the WIZO delegates who brought international diplomats to the event: Claudia Camisar and Galit Gurovich of Argentina; Mariela Rotemberg of Uruguay; Rita Dauber of Austria; Danielle Balassiano Ptak of Brazil; and Susanne Sznajderman Rytz of Sweden.
For WIZO, Zionism means building Israel at home and defending its legitimacy abroad. Its women carry that responsibility into rooms where Israel’s voice might otherwise go unheard.
Written in collaboration with WIZO