World Mizrachi movement executive chairman Rabbi Doron Perez is favored for the head of Keren Hayesod amid World Zionist Congress coalition negotiations. The coalition agreement, which must be reached by all slates across the political spectrum, has not been finalized.
After the agreement has been announced on the different portfolios for the National Institution, such as the World Zionist Organization or Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, it will then need to be signed.
Last year, the coalition agreement was announced on the second day and signed on the third.
If no agreement has been reached, there will be a constitutional crisis.
World Likud dispute
This year’s negotiations have been complicated by an internal dispute within World Likud, following a failure to hold elections before the conference. WZO Chairman Yaakov Hagoel and Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar both seek leadership of the movement. World Likud, which Hagoel heads, has refused to hold elections, ostensibly fearing they would be rushed, but there have been multiple delays throughout the year.
As a result of the undecided leadership, other slates have had to negotiate with two separate Likud factions, promising different concessions depending on which faction wins. Delegates from different slates expressed frustration in private about the dysfunction of the Likud and how parallel negotiations complicated the situation.