UK Sephardi group appeals to Zionist Supreme Court in attempt to gain admittance to Zionist Federation

A UK branch of the Sephardi Orthodox movement Shas is battling to join the Zionist Federation after its application was queried.

The group has appealed to the Zionist Supreme Court in Jerusalem, the judicial body of the World Zionist Organisation, to grant it recognition.

The move comes ahead of elections to send British delegates to the 39th World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, which is due to take place in October.

Shas Olami UK was founded in 2022, according to its chairman David Menahem, by “British Zionist pro-Israel communities, particularly Sephardic Jews, who felt unrepresented within the ZF”.

The ZF, he said, “refused to grant us rightful recognition, in violation of its own constitution - as global Shas Olami is a recognised party at the WZO”.

He added: “This exclusion leaves us with no choice but to seek justice through the Zionist Supreme Court. While we remain committed to democracy, the stance being taken currently by the ZF silences thousands of Zionist voices from the Sephardic communities that deserve to be heard and thereby serves to undermine British Jewry.”

A representative of the ZF - the umbrella body for Zionist groups in the UK - said it “welcomes members from all parts of the UK Jewish community. We are pleased that Shas has established a UK chapter that wants to join us and hope it will strengthen our relationships with the Sephardi community, which they represent.

“Our focus at this time is to help Shas UK establish local Zionist activities as part of their mission, as would be the case with any other Zionist organisation wishing to establish a UK branch. This ensures that organisations are active in the UK when they become members of the ZF.”

The UK remains a minnow in the Zionist world with only 19 seats among the 525 delegates at the Congress.

While the WZO itself is relatively small with an annual budget of around £35 million, it wields considerable influence on other bodies such as the Jewish Agency, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel (Jewish National Fund) and Keren Hayesod (United Israel Appeal), which, together, spend over £750 million a year.

At the last Congress five years ago, the British delegation was made up of four representatives each from the Orthodox religious movement Mizrachi and the Progressive Pro-Zion; two each from the Masorti Mercaz, Likud UK and FZY; and one each from the Jewish Labour Movement, the Over the Rainbow coalition, Herut UK, Meretz and Hanoar Hatzioni.

But this year, another group, Eretz Hakodesh, which leans to the Orthodox religious right, will also be bidding for a place.