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There is some big stuff going on in the realm of Israel/Diaspora relations and the 'national institutions' that form one of the oldest political and programmatic interfaces between the two. In particular, the prospect of an ultra-orthodox/right wing takeover of key bodies 1/8 https://twitter.com/Gil_Hoffman/status/1317788015012478978
It's important regardless of how you ultimately feel about whether these institutions should exist, because there is serious and significant power and resource held within them + the chance of it being put to use entrenching occupation + defunding non orthodox streams is real 2/8
The kingmakers in this are potentially the international organisations of @Hadassah @WIZOuk @BnaiBrith @NAAMATUSA and @maccabigb who normally stay out of voting on the coalition agreements. But this is not the time to stay out, because abstention is consent. 3/8
What would it mean consenting to? There's a good summary here https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-right-wing-groups-accused-of-plotting-hostile-takeover-of-key-zionist-institutions-1.9244120 but it means KKL goes to Likud and Mizrahi, the WZO diaspora dept. to someone who calls leftists traitors and Palestinians a 'more dangerous virus than COVID' 4/8
These parties have consistently run on anti-reform and conservative (masorti) and anti-progressive platforms, and if there were already concerns about the flow of KKL/WZO money over the green line with the centre/left in charge then imagine what is to come. 5/8
The clincher here, is that this shouldn't be democratically possible, because although politically these groups are the largest faction, they're a minority in the WZO if you add the centre-left groups together with those who usually stay out of coalition politics. 6/8
Which is why this is not the year to abstain, and allow the whole apparatus to be taken over by those who hate diversity, don't value pluralism, and seek to systematically eradicate the voice of the majority of Jews around the world who are not hard right/ultra orthodox 7/8
So, if you are someone who is connected to Maccabi, WIZO, B'nai Brith or Hadassah, now is the time to say something, and that something is that abstention is consent. Don't let hatred seize these institutions. Lobby your representatives to vote against the coalition agreement 8/8
