World Zionist Organization

[mevinyavin]

Here we go again.
And, from the lion's mouth, some comments on the results of last election. (Emphasis mine, just for those who don't want to read the blah blah blah.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/upcoming-wzo-election-sees-orthodox-liberal-struggle-opportunity-for-north-american-jews/

The upcoming World Zionist Congress election, which takes place online between March 10 and May 5, will establish how a budget of more than $1 billion a year will be divvied up by Jewish institutions over the next five years.

The vote also gives Jews around the world a measure of influence over Israel’s governance and represents the single biggest opportunity for North American Jews to influence the future of the Jewish people, World Zionist Organization officials say.

It’s a global inflection point for world Jewry with a number of dramas playing out, including a historic showdown between pluralistic and ultra-Orthodox slates that could affect religious matters for years to come.

“This is the one moment every five years where American Jews can express their opinions on issues that they care about,” said Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, which is administering the election.

“There are parties that want to use funding for religious pluralism, for Haredi institutions, for developing Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, for a two-state solution, and for just about every viewpoint in the Jewish world,” Block said. “The vote will influence decisions on everything from Israel’s post-October 7 rebuilding to Zionist education to security for Jewish institutions in the Diaspora to supporting vulnerable members of Israeli society. This is the opportunity for people to vote for what they think is important.”

Established by Theodor Herzl in 1897, the congress and its representatives from Jewish communities around the world allocate $1 billion to Jewish causes every year and oversee Israel’s so-called national institutions, including the World Zionist Organization, which carries out the congress’s vision; the Jewish Agency, which plays a central role in Jewish immigration to Israel; and the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund.

“There are no ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in this election — participation is a victory in and of itself,” Block said. “The larger the voter turnout is, the more the American Jewish voice is heard.”

Voting for the 39th congress is open to all Jews aged 18 or older with permanent residency in the US. Those who voted in Israel’s most recent election in November 2022 are not eligible to vote. Voters must accept the WZO’s principles of Zionism and pay a $5 fee to vote online.

“There is an element of an honor system, but we also have sophisticated technology in place to prevent voter fraud,” Block said.

Powerful bodies
Many people in the Jewish world aren’t aware of how powerful the congress is, said Yizhar Hess, vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization and representative of Mercaz, the slate of the global Masorti/Conservative Movement.

“We are talking about the budgets of three significant national institutions,” Hess said. “Just as an example, JNF-KKL owns approximately 13% of the land in Israel, generating an annual budget that is larger than what all the Jewish Federations in North America raise together.”

“This is money that belongs to the entire Jewish people,” he added.

The World Zionist Congress is composed of 525 total seats, with representation from three different geographic areas. Israel has 200 seats, which are automatically divided along the lines of political parties’ representation in Knesset. Another 152 seats represent the United States, divided according to the election results. The final 173 seats are chosen by other countries, either through a public vote or, in smaller communities, by local Jewish leadership.

The upcoming elections will allow US Jews to choose their 152 representatives from a record 22 slates, a significant increase from the 13 slates to choose from in 2020.

The 39th World Zionist Congress will convene in Jerusalem on October 28-30, 2025.

Approximately 124,000 US Jews voted during the last elections in 2020, from a population of more than 7 million. AZM expects much greater turnout this year, Block said.

More than 2,900 candidates are hoping to be voted in. The WZO requires of every slate that at least 40% of delegates are women and that a quarter are under age 35, Block noted.

“The Zionist Congress has been progressive from the very beginning,” Block said. “There were female delegates at the very first congress in Basel, and they could vote in the second congress, at a time when almost no countries allowed women to vote.”

Battles between religious camps
One of the most significant dramas of this year’s election is the faceoff between pluralistic and ultra-Orthodox slates after the surprising results of the previous election upended the balance of power, Hess said.

“The pluralistic slates had several problems in the 2020 elections,” Hess said. “First, our constituents in North America did not turn out to vote in great numbers, and all of the liberal movements’ slates lost delegates. That was bad enough.”

However, the entrance of a new Haredi party to the congress added further challenges, he said.

“Generally speaking, the Haredi parties in Knesset do not send delegates to the Zionist Congress, but this new [American] party, Eretz HaKodesh, is associated with the United Torah Judaism party, and they managed to win 25 out of 152 seats, a very strong showing for a new party. All of a sudden, the liberal movements became a minority for the first time, while Haredi Jews, who make up only about 5% of American Jewry, have more than 16% of the vote.”

This can potentially affect all sorts of decisions affecting the balance of religion and state in Israel, from the Rabbinate’s accepting non-Orthodox conversions to decisions about non-Orthodox prayer at the Western Wall, Hess said. He noted that the main source of funding for non-Orthodox streams of Judaism in Israel is the Jewish Agency, whose budgets are controlled in part by the congress.

“Israel is at a point where we see a growing trend of Jewish pluralism on one hand, and a growing trend of Jewish fundamentalism on the other,” Hess said. “For any of the important decisions that Knesset votes on, the real influence and pressure comes from the national institutions, via the congress.”

Fears of Christian involvement
Meanwhile, on the religious right wing, fears are mounting that an influx of new parties will divide the bloc and dilute its strength. Five out of nine new slates running for Congress this year are associated with the religious right, and insiders are concerned that the slates will exhaust their resources fighting against each other and lose focus on their external rivals.

A controversy arose recently when accusations were made that one of the new slates, Israel365 Action, may have a hidden Christian agenda. Israel365, a right-wing pro-Israel advocacy group, has strong ties to evangelical groups, and there were concerns that the organization may have downplayed its interests when it approached former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman and asked him to lend his support to the slate.

After some confusion, Friedman later distanced himself from the group, stating he was not affiliated with any slate or candidate, leading to accusations that Israel365 misused his name. The group is now more transparent about its relationship with “faith-based Christians” on its party platform, saying it plans to “invest in these vital relationships, particularly focusing on the next generation of Christian supporters, ensuring strong backing for a secure, united Israel continues into the future.”

Despite internal disputes and defections, the slate remains on the ballot, and election officials have declined to cite any rule violations.

Meanwhile, Block and the AZM continue to lay the groundwork for the beginning of the elections next month, in what Block says is a vote he hopes everyone will become aware of.

“If you go to a synagogue or a Jewish community center today, there aren’t a lot of people talking about the vote,” Block said. “I hope that by March 10, everyone will have heard about it.”

[yelped]

I think the question is, even if you do not want to associate with Zionists, how dangerous it is to allow these huge sums of money and pressure to be thrown around in trying to loosen the last safeguards of Judaism in Israel such as Rababanut control over marriages, kashrus, mikvas, and issues such as Shabbos, recognition of non Orthodox streams of Judaism as valid, and WOW.

[sguitarist18]

I think that was R' Berkovitz's point.

[JMHO]

https://azm.org/elections/results

So if the Frum population of Lakewood or Brooklyn votes, we'll control 1B/yr? How are more 'Askonim' not on this?!

[yelped]

So if the Frum population of Lakewood or Brooklyn votes, we'll control 1B/yr? How are more 'Askonim' not on this?!

The askonim are busy printing posters every single Sunday the last few years not to vote or take part.

[EliJelly]

So if the Frum population of Lakewood or Brooklyn votes, we'll control 1B/yr? How are more 'Askonim' not on this?!

Next lets sign we accept the ideals of Christianity and lets infiltrate the Catholic church so we can direct money and resources to areas we see fit.

[yungermanchik]

See the first article here

[yawn]

So if the Frum population of Lakewood or Brooklyn votes, we'll control 1B/yr? How are more 'Askonim' not on this?!

No, we'd control 100 seats out of 525. We'd be the Yesh Atid of the WZO.

[yfr bachur]

No, we'd control 100 seats out of 525. We'd be the Yesh Atid of the WZO.

Thats not actually true.
At that point the frum and frum adjacent would pretty much have a majority.

Next lets sign we accept the ideals of Christianity and lets infiltrate the Catholic church so we can direct money and resources to areas we see fit.

Though the position of the rabbanim against joining, That's also not totally fair.
The leftist parties (among others) arguably don't agree with the Zionistic statements either.

In any case, even if there are charedi parties involved, I would rather see them divert the various monies towards promoting general frumkeit in Eretz Yisroel, rather than anything specifically directed at chareidim. We're there to block the influence of the reform, not to stick our hands in the cookie jar.

[JMHO]

Next lets sign we accept the ideals of Christianity and lets infiltrate the Catholic church so we can direct money and resources to areas we see fit.

Where do we sign

[zh cohen]

The leftist parties (among others) arguably don't agree with the Zionistic statements either.

Does signing that you agree with certain statements become muttar because other people lie when they sign the same statement?

[gubevo18]

The Jerusalem Program's foundations of Zionism are:
The unity of the Jewish people, its bond to its historic homeland Eretz Yisrael, and the centrality of the State of Israel and Jerusalem, its capital, in the life of the nation;
Aliyah to Israel from all countries and the effective integration of all immigrants into Israeli society.
Strengthening Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state and shaping it as an exemplary society with a unique moral and spiritual character, marked by mutual respect for the multi-faceted Jewish people, rooted in the vision of the prophets, striving for peace and contributing to the betterment of the world.
Ensuring the future and the distinctiveness of the Jewish people by furthering Jewish, Hebrew and Zionist education, fostering spiritual and cultural values and teaching Hebrew as the national language;
Nurturing mutual Jewish responsibility, defending the rights of Jews as individuals and as a nation, representing the national Zionist interests of the Jewish people, and struggling against all manifestations of anti-Semitism;
Settling the country as an expression of practical Zionism.
Encouraging recruitment and service in the Israel Defense Forces and the security forces and strengthening them as the protective force of the Jewish people living in Zion, as well as encouraging full National Service for anyone exempted in law from service in the IDF.

What about this is akin to Catholic Church ideals? We sign on to the knesset to get money for yeshivos - I wonder what sort of oath the MKs take on.

[yelped]

The Jerusalem Program's foundations of Zionism are:
The unity of the Jewish people, its bond to its historic homeland Eretz Yisrael, and the centrality of the State of Israel and Jerusalem, its capital, in the life of the nation;
Aliyah to Israel from all countries and the effective integration of all immigrants into Israeli society.
Strengthening Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state and shaping it as an exemplary society with a unique moral and spiritual character, marked by mutual respect for the multi-faceted Jewish people, rooted in the vision of the prophets, striving for peace and contributing to the betterment of the world.
Ensuring the future and the distinctiveness of the Jewish people by furthering Jewish, Hebrew and Zionist education, fostering spiritual and cultural values and teaching Hebrew as the national language;
Nurturing mutual Jewish responsibility, defending the rights of Jews as individuals and as a nation, representing the national Zionist interests of the Jewish people, and struggling against all manifestations of anti-Semitism;
Settling the country as an expression of practical Zionism.
Encouraging recruitment and service in the Israel Defense Forces and the security forces and strengthening them as the protective force of the Jewish people living in Zion, as well as encouraging full National Service for anyone exempted in law from service in the IDF.

What about this is akin to Catholic Church ideals? We sign on to the knesset to get money for yeshivos - I wonder what sort of oath the MKs take on.

Exactly. The word Zionism doesn't mean what it meant a 100 years ago.

[sguitarist18]

The Jerusalem Program's foundations of Zionism are:
The unity of the Jewish people, its bond to its historic homeland Eretz Yisrael, and the centrality of the State of Israel and Jerusalem, its capital, in the life of the nation;
Aliyah to Israel from all countries and the effective integration of all immigrants into Israeli society.
Strengthening Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state and shaping it as an exemplary society with a unique moral and spiritual character, marked by mutual respect for the multi-faceted Jewish people, rooted in the vision of the prophets, striving for peace and contributing to the betterment of the world.
Ensuring the future and the distinctiveness of the Jewish people by furthering Jewish, Hebrew and Zionist education, fostering spiritual and cultural values and teaching Hebrew as the national language;
Nurturing mutual Jewish responsibility, defending the rights of Jews as individuals and as a nation, representing the national Zionist interests of the Jewish people, and struggling against all manifestations of anti-Semitism;
Settling the country as an expression of practical Zionism.
Encouraging recruitment and service in the Israel Defense Forces and the security forces and strengthening them as the protective force of the Jewish people living in Zion, as well as encouraging full National Service for anyone exempted in law from service in the IDF.

What about this is akin to Catholic Church ideals? We sign on to the knesset to get money for yeshivos - I wonder what sort of oath the MKs take on.

What parts of this to people take exception to? I would guess the last line is maybe the most controversial, but I certainly support it, although obviously learning torah comes first, and it needs to be under torah guidance.

[imayid2]

What parts of this to people take exception to? I would guess the last line is maybe the most controversial, but I certainly support it, although obviously learning torah comes first, and it needs to be under torah guidance.

Girls too?

[sguitarist18]

I have no problem at all with girls doing national service, as long as it's under a torah hashkafah guidance.

[yitzgar]

The Chazon Ish felt that it was yehareg v'al yaavor for girls to do sheirut leumi

[imayid2]

I have no problem at all with girls doing national service, as long as it's under a torah hashkafah guidance.

Okay, that is your personal opinion. But if you are asking what people are opposed to then that would definitely be a big one as many Gedolim fought the idea fiercely.
https://www.hidabroot.org/article/1141886

[EliJelly]

What about this is akin to Catholic Church ideals?

Every single line substitutes Torah and its only values for the Jewish people for some foreign ideas, although nicely worded.

[zh cohen]

What parts of this to people take exception to?

Do we believe that the "State of Israel" is central to the "life of the (Jewish) nation"? This statement is based on the ideas of those who wanted the State to replace Torah.