Steve Goldberg pledges to implement the following 7 point action plan if he is elected President of the ZOA.
1. To be effective, the ZOA must get involved in American politics. Right now we are nowhere on the scene, especially compared to AIPAC and J Street. To have any impact, we must aggressively lobby Congress and help elect pro-Israel candidates and defeat anti-Israel candidates. To do so, the ZOA must be more than a 501c3 "educational" organization. It must create a 501c4 for the purpose of lobbying, and a PAC to help support the candidates who are most pro-Israel. I pledge to create such entities so that the ZOA can become relevant and actually affect policy towards Israel in the United States.
2. The ZOA needs to do more than just issue press releases. I pledge to create an army of pro-Israel activists across the country who will speak out, march, demonstrate, and write in support of our platform. We will greatly expand what is now just a token college program to attract young people. We will appear at college campuses where the Muslim Students Union is bashing Israel to demonstrate that Jewish students will not be intimidated. We will hold rallies in cities across the U.S. in support of Israel.
3. The ZOA must initiate a massive public relations campaign across the U.S. to discredit the Palestinian narrative and to explain why the so-called "two state solution" is an abysmal failure which must be declared dead and buried--permanently. There should be a strategic campaign that includes billboards, use of the internet and social media, television, editorials and public speakers who unapologetically make this argument.
4. Likewise, the ZOA must engage in a massive public relations campaign in anticipation of a preemptive military attack by Israel on Iran. Waiting until it happens will be too late. It is time to take the lead in shaping public opinion now.
5. The ZOA must strengthen its presence in Israel. We should partner with strong Zionist organizations, institutions and opinion-makers in Israel such as Women In Green, Im Tirtzu, Regavim, Ariel University, the Shomron Regional Council, the cities of Hebron, Ariel, Kedumim, Gush Etzion and other such areas in Judea and Samaria, Martin Sherman and Caroline Glick. The ZOA should be working openly with strong Zionist political leaders.
6. ZOA can no longer be the lone voice of truth. ZOA should engage in creative, attractive outreach to professionals, especially young professionals, and ordinary American citizens of all kinds so that they understand the values at stake and are proud to align themselves with the Zionist cause. We must also actively work with centrist organizations and political leaders so that they have the courage to stand up for the values they often suppress due to political correctness.
7. The ZOA is a Zionist organization. We must vigorously encourage Jews around the world, including and especially our leaders and members, to make aliyah.
