‏New Year Message | President of World WIZO

A new civil year is a reset, not because the world becomes easier, but because we choose to lead anyway.
WIZO is not just an organization. It is a living global network of Jewish women who build resilience, shape public space, and keep Jewish life strong wherever we live.

This year, from Brazil and Uruguay to Sweden and Austria, and through the centennial milestones of WIZO Sweden and WIZO Chile, I saw it again: proof of what I already know. Federations are the movement’s power source, shaping the public arena and keeping Jewish life visible, confident, and strong. In your communities, you build resilience at home and influence beyond it, working with leaders and policymakers and serving as Israel’s living mission in the public sphere.

This year, we should think less in terms of “Israel and the Diaspora” and more in terms of one shared responsibility.

Israel is the practical center of Jewish life. The State of Israel is a collective project of the Jewish people. The citizens of Israel are, in large part, Jews of the Diaspora who made Aliyah. Aliyah remains the ultimate Zionist expression, but Jewish responsibility does not end at any border.

And so is WIZO: one strong movement, one shared enterprise.

As we enter this new civil year, the President’s Office is growing in capacity, and with it, our ability to serve you better. My focus is clear: stronger federations abroad, deeper federation to federation connectivity, and greater global impact, driven by meaningful Zionist activity in your communities, next generation leadership, and a stronger international voice for WIZO.

To do that, we will bring forward initiatives from the World Zionist Organization across its departments and make them accessible and practical for federations to implement locally, while expanding leadership missions and seminars connected to Israel and strengthening the flow of Israeli speakers and content into your communities. At the same time, we will widen WIZO’s international reach through stronger international media work, deeper engagement with the World Jewish Congress, and a stronger UN footprint, now reinforced through ECOSOC and renewed representation at UNICEF. This is not a list of acts. It is cumulative momentum, more visibility, more influence, and a stronger pipeline of new women who want to belong and lead.

As we turn the page into a new year, I bow my head to every Jew murdered for their Jewish identity, on foreign soil and in Israel this year. There is no difference between them. One people. One loss. One shared obligation.

We carry that pain with dignity. We honor the lives taken and the families left behind. And we turn grief into responsibility: to protect Jewish life, to stand openly as Jews, and to keep our unity alive, not as a slogan, but as a lived commitment.

Thank you for the trust you place in me, and for the privilege of serving the movement we have all built, generation after generation.

“The Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.” (Psalm 121:4)

This year, we do not step back. We lead with purpose.

Anat Vidor
President, World WIZO