New President Elected

Anat Vidor has been elected the 8^th president of World WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization).

Tel Aviv, January, 2024 — Anat Vidor was elected the 8th president of World WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization) at the organization’s recent EGM.

The event was held in the presence of World WIZO Chairperson Anita Friedman, outgoing World WIZO President Esther Mor, members of the World WIZO Executive Committee, World WIZO CEO Mira Mines, WIZO Israel Chairperson Ora Korazim, and among the participants – dozens of World WIZO leaders from around the world.

WIZO held the EGM online with the participation of about 600 participants from WIZO ‘s federations from around the world.

Anat was elected during WIZO’s 28th Enlarged General Meeting on January 10th. This meeting, typically held every four years in Tel Aviv with the participation of 1,000 WIZO members from around the world, was held this year on Zoom because of the Gaza War.

Anat has succeeded Esther Mor, who served as WIZO president for the past 8 years.

Anat, 52, a fifth-generation Israeli, descended from pioneers of the First Aliya. She first joined WIZO as the elected president of WIZO New South Wales – Sydney, Australia.

After returning to Israel with her family, Anat joined the Executive Board of WIZO in Israel, and served as marketing chairperson.

Anat feels strongly about WIZO’s role in Israel and the Jewish world: “Now, more than ever, WIZO plays a leading part in ensuring the resilience and strength of Israeli society, and in defending Israel’s inalienable right to exist as the sovereign and democratic homeland of the Jewish people.”

In his address to the worldwide WIZO community, the Israeli President the Honorable Isaac Herzog said, “WIZO is woven right at the center of the story of Israel. I want to thank each and every one of you that is part of this vast and powerful web of caring which is called WIZO.”  Referring to the war, the President said: “We will rise again, we will recover, we will rebuild.”

Anita Friedman, Chairperson of World WIZO, opened the event by stating: “With a long war ahead of us, when Israeli society is in a collective trauma unprecedented in our history – we know that not only will there be great needs in the near future, but that new and urgent needs will constantly develop and knock on our door. We will continue to focus on doing what we do even better, on the one hand, and on renewing new services and programs, on the other hand. It is, after all, WIZO’s DNA. We identify needs that the government and other civil society organizations have not addressed, and developers and implementers respond to them.”

Anat grew up in Israel, and after completing her IDF service, she served for three years as a Jewish Agency emissary in Queensland, Australia. After returning to Israel, she served as the spokesperson for the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel.

Anat holds a bachelor’s degree in archeology and Jewish history from Hebrew University, and a master’s degree in communications from Bond University in Queensland, Australia. During her time in Sydney, Anat served as a lecturer in Jewish history and the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Melton Program of the University of Sydney.

Anat has two children. Her daughter recently completed service as a combat soldier in the IDF, and her son is currently serving in the IDF.

About WIZO

Founded 103 years ago in England, WIZO is Israel’s largest educational and social welfare organization, serving tens of thousands of children, youth, women and families. WIZO is also a great global movement of women volunteers, with hundreds of thousands of members in 38 countries.