Short answers, pulled from the story.
The World Zionist Organization was founded in August 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from the 29th to the 31st of August in Basel, Switzerland. It was originally called the Zionist Organization and adopted its current name in January 1960.
Theodor Herzl founded the Zionist Organization at the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897 and served as its first president until 1904. The congress was held at the Stadtcasino Basel.
98 percent of the WZO's funding comes from the Jewish National Fund, which owns 13 percent of land in Israel and receives payments when the Israel Land Authority rents or sells property. In 2025 the WZO's budget was projected to grow from $60 million to $100 million within a few years.
The Jerusalem Program is the official platform of the WZO, adopted by the Zionist Council in Jerusalem in June 2004. It defines Zionism as the national liberation movement of the Jewish people and sets out foundations including support for aliyah, Hebrew education, combating antisemitism, and strengthening Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. It was amended in February 2024 to add support for IDF recruitment and national service.
A 2009 document before Israel's Supreme Court showed the WZO transferred privately owned Palestinian land to Israeli settlers in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, roughly 15 miles north of Jerusalem. The Israeli Justice Ministry confirmed the land belonged to Palestinians and that nine houses had been ordered demolished.
In November 2025, opposition leader Yair Lapid announced Yesh Atid was leaving the WZO over corruption and patronage, citing an attempt to appoint Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to a senior post. Reports described an arrangement dividing 146 senior positions, including 21 department heads, among political factions through what a WZO official called fictitious tenders.