Women's International Zionist Organization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Israel |
 This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
Other countries · Politics Portal |
The Women's International Zionist Organization, also known as WIZO (Hebrew: ויצו, Vitzo), is a non-party international movement dedicated to the advancement of the status of women, welfare of all sectors of Israeli society and encouragement of Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora.
[edit] History
WIZO was founded in England in 1920 by five women, Rebecca Sieff, Dr. Vera Weizmann (wife of Israel's first president, Haim Weizman), Edith Eder, Romana Goodman and Henrietta Irwell with the aim of helping the Jewish population in Mandate Palestine. Its foundation took place after Sieff and two others visited the new British Protectorate in 1919.
In the years after, WIZO branches were founded across Europe. However, Nazi occupation and the Holocaust meant that many continental branches were closed. Nevertheless, branches continued to open in Latin America.
After Israeli independence in 1948, WIZO moved its headquarters to the new country in 1949 and Sieff was made President of the international WIZO Movement. She continued in the role until 1966, when she was replaced by Rosa Ginossar. Since then Raya Jaglom and Michal Modai have also held the role.
Since the 1960s, WIZO has opened branches in the United States, Hong Kong, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
[edit] Political activity in Israel
WIZO ran for the Knesset in Israel's first elections in 1949. They received 1.2% of the vote and won one seat, which was taken by Rachel Cohen-Kagan, the chairwoman of WIZO at the time. They have not won a seat since, though Cohen-Kagan later reappeared in the fifth Knesset as a member of the Liberal Party (though she was a member of the group that broke away to form the Independent Liberals).
