Thank You, 2025 — A Turbulent Year That Deepened the Meaning of Our Work

Dear Friends, Women of WIZO,

As these words reach you, the final, energetic preparations are underway for WIZO’s annual representatives’ conference — the MOR. As always, the excitement arrives first, even before the first of our members land at Ben Gurion Airport. It is already here, woven into every stage of planning and anticipation. During MOR week, we will sum up the year behind us, welcome the year ahead, experience, connect, and celebrate. Alongside all of this, we will continue — as is our tradition — to honor with deep respect the extraordinary legacy of WIZO across generations. With the help of technology, that legacy will even grant us a brief ceremonial visit from Rebecca Sieff.

Rebecca Sieff, WIZO’s first Chairperson and President, passed away in January 1966. In exactly one week, we will mark sixty years since her passing. She left us tangible and intangible assets alike, including the building that still houses WIZO’s headquarters today. Above all, she left us with a profound commitment: to always be the best and most dedicated, relentlessly practical, and forever ready to be among the first to embrace any national mission we are capable of advancing.

The year 2025 presented no shortage of challenges and stood out among recent years for the turbulence it brought. Yet the more intense the reality around us, the greater the meaning of our work becomes. In an ordinary year, WIZO’s activity is part of the national social effort; in 2025, it was nothing less than a vital tool within Israel’s existential struggle. The achievements of this year were many — moving, impactful, and often carried out quietly. But those who work with people and communities can never rest on past accomplishments. Always at the door stand new cohorts of youth, new waves of women affected by violence, more children removed from unsafe homes, more boys and girls reaching bar and bat mitzvah age, more at-risk girls searching for a guiding hand — and countless additional community needs that WIZO exists to meet.

Above all, 2025 was a year that combined relentless hostility toward Jews, in Israel and around the world, with remarkable achievements in both the military and social spheres. Yet even in the face of success, one truth must be remembered: in a volatile environment, complacency is the enemy, and vigilance is essential. In the Middle East, threats that fade are quickly replaced by new ones. One campaign ends as the next already appears on the horizon. Periods of calm devoted to recovery from past emergencies are, at the same time, preparation and strengthening for those still to come.

So how does one take leave of such a year? With deep gratitude for a period of meaningful and fulfilling action, and with great pride in our place within the historic enterprise of the return to Zion — an achievement whose power and impact continue to astonish the world.

It was said at the outset that excitement arrives first; it is fitting to conclude by saying that hope is the last to leave. May the new civil year, 2026, be a year of peace and security, of national and personal success and pride, of growth and flourishing in all of WIZO’s values and missions — and in the lives of each and every one of you, dear members.

With sincere thanks and deep appreciation, and in anticipation of meeting you soon here in Israel,

Anita Friedman
World WIZO Chairperson