Right Wingers win American zionist congress elections

Post Reply New Topic

Right-wing, Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox slates scored unprecedented victories in the United States World Zionist Congress elections in a fiercely competitive race marred by numerous counts of election fraud.

Preliminary results published Thursday showed that right-wing groups won 81 of 152 available mandates in the US, while liberal ones secured 71, according to initial estimates.

Seven slates associated with Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox movements received more than 40 percent of all votes cast, or more than 100,000 of the record 230,257 total votes cast in the election held online from March 10 to May 4 in the US.

However, nearly every individual slate lost ground in terms of their number of mandates due to the increase in the number of competing slates, from 14 to 22.

The election results will help determine how some $5 billion in funding will be spent on Jewish and Israeli causes over the next five years.

“For the first time, the conservative and right-wing bloc has achieved a clear majority, said WZO Chairman Yaakov Hagoel in a statement following the publication of the results. “This is a historic moment in which American Jewry has voiced a strong stand for proud Zionism, for tradition and for bringing hearts together.”

While the Reform Movement’s slate garnered the most votes, the most surprising showing was by Am Yisrael Chai, a new group of Jewish college students and young professionals focused on pro-Israel advocacy and promoting the “love of Torah and Judaism” that came in second place with 31,765 votes, or 13.8% of total votes cast.

Eretz Hakodesh, associated with Israel’s Haredi United Torah Judaism party, placed third with 29,159 votes, or 12.7% of the total. The Orthodox Israel Coalition, representing mainstream Orthodox institutions, placed fifth with 26,975 votes, or 11.7% of the total.

Other Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox slates combine for approximately 13,500 more votes. It should be noted that, while Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox slates share many similar beliefs regarding Jewish law and tradition, they differ widely on many of the most important issues in the State of Israel, including exemptions from army service, conversions, and religious supervision of kashrut and weddings.

On the liberal side of the spectrum, the Vote Reform slate came in first with 47,887 votes, or 20.8% of the total. Mercaz, which represents Conservative/Masorti Judaism, came in fourth with 27,893, or 12.1% of the vote.

“This is more than just a win for our slate — it is a resounding mandate for the values we champion,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism. “Our community stepped forward with clarity and courage to say we will lead, we will protect democracy, and we will build a more just and inclusive future for Jews everywhere.”

Among the remaining 17 slates out of the 22 that ran in the election, the liberal Hatikvah slate led the pack with 5% of the vote.

Widespread voter fraud
The 230,257 votes recorded, representing an 86% increase in votes from the previous election, do not include 18,948 votes that were invalidated due to suspicions of fraud.

Am Yisrael Chai and Eretz Hakodesh are believed to be among six parties said to have benefited from seemingly orchestrated campaigns to boost votes using duplicate email addresses and suspicious pre-paid credit cards.

World Zionist Organization’s Area Election Committee (AEC) said it has not found clear evidence that any of the affected slates were intentionally complicit in fraudulent activity, although it believes there is a likelihood of coordinated activity.

The AEC will continue to investigate the fraud and consider how to penalize slates connected with the fraudulent voting schemes, according to a statement.

All of the accused slates have consented to a proposal to disqualify the problematic votes, with one exception for a specific case. However, many slate heads have insisted that other slates involved in fraud be completely disqualified from participation in the Congress to show that such activity will not be tolerated.

The strong showing by two of the suspected parties will likely make it more difficult for the AEC to completely disqualify them. A timeline for announcing a final decision has not been announced.

Bad blood between competing camps
Election rivalries were more heated than usual throughout the election due to the entry of several new Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox slates that threatened the long-standing hegemony of liberal left-wing slates.

While ultra-Orthodox constituencies have traditionally stayed out of the Congress due to their ideological opposition to Zionism, this changed in the previous election when the Haredi Eretz Hakodesh slate ran and won an astonishing 25 out of the 152 US seats. That pushed the Congress’s liberal parties, who have traditionally held the majority of seats, into the minority for the first time.

That inspired a slew of other parties to join this year’s race, including many Orthodox slates, bringing the number of parties running to 22, compared to 14 in 2020.

Throughout the election, slate leaders from both sides of the spectrum hurled vicious accusations at their opponents.

In February, Rabbi Dov Landau, a leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi, ordered Haredi political parties to refrain from participating in the elections. However, his call went unheeded, even after Mercaz launched a covert campaign in April, confirmed by The Times of Israel, to try to stir up anger within the Haredi community.

Following the publication of the election results, some called for slate leaders to work to heal rifts.

“Now that the votes have been counted and the results declared, we are entrusted with a sacred responsibility: to serve as the voice of the Jewish people on the world stage for the next five years,” said Aish Ha’am slate head Rabbi Steven Burg in a statement Friday. “To fulfill that mission, what we need most is unity. The World Zionist Congress must be a forum where challenges facing global Jewry are met with courage, collaboration and creativity.”

High stakes
Established by Theodor Herzl in 1897, members of the World Zionist Congress decide how to 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.

More than 35 countries around the world are currently preparing to hold their own local elections for the World Zionist Congress. More than 20 countries will hold public elections for Congress this summer, while in others, delegates will be chosen by local Jewish leaders. Final results for all countries must be submitted by July 28.

Voting in Canada is currently open online through June 15.

The World Zionist Congress is comprised of 525 seats, with representation from three different geographic areas. Israel has 200 seats, automatically allocated according to political party representation in the Knesset. Another 152 seats represent the United States, divided according to the WZC 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 World Zionist Congress will convene in Jerusalem on October 28-30, 2025.