abstract:The World Zionist Organization ( HaHistadrut HaTsionit HaOlamit), or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization ( HaHistadrut HaTsionit), or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland.See Chapter 2: The Seven Years of Herzl of Zionism – The First 120 Years by the Jewish Agency.