Get out and vote!
A critical election is upon us and the voice of American Jews needs to be heard on some of the most pressing issues facing Israel and global Jewry. The World Zionist Congress (WZC) is opening its once-every-five-year election season on January 21, 2020. Votes may be cast through March 11, 2020.
Why is the WZC election important to American Jews?
The vote elects 152 American representatives to the 38th World Zionist Congress – the largest delegation outside of Israel – and determines which group will have the greatest impact on setting future policy. The Congress also decides how $3 billion, which forms the budget of the World Zionist Organization, The Jewish Agency, Keren Kayemet (The Jewish National Fund), and Keren Hayesod, gets spent annually on what is deemed the priorities of Jews in Israel and the Diaspora. For example, is the money spent on shlichim (emissaries from Israel) in the U.S., or for summer camps in the former Soviet Union, or for security in Latin America? (Incidentally, the money has been spent on all.)
The WZC elections may be shadowed by the more highly publicized and sensational national elections taking place in the United States and in Israel, however, they are key to helping ensure Jewish continuity, the safety of the Jewish people, and the strength of Israel-Diaspora ties.
“This election is a celebration of democracy in the Jewish community where Jews in the United States have a unique opportunity to express their views on important issues in Israel and affecting the Diaspora,” said Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement (AZM), which administers the vote.
“In a time of growing anti-Zionism, often connected to anti-Semitism, casting a ballot in this election is also a personal reaffirmation of Zionism and a way to show broad support for Israel,” Block said.
Once its worldwide delegates are elected, the Congress will meet in Jerusalem to establish the policies of the World Zionist Organization, following in the tradition of the first Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland in 1897.
Historically, AMIT and its predecessor, Mizrachi Women of America, have been part of the Congress. Mizrachi women joined the Second Zionist Congress, paving the way for AMIT members’ participation since then. This year, AMIT will run as part of the Orthodox Israel Coalition, a slate comprising AMIT and the Religious Zionist of America (RZA, the U.S. branch of the World Mizrachi Movement). The slate will represent the interests of Bnei Akiva, National Council of Young Israel, the Orthodox Union, Torah M’Tzion, Touro, Yavneh and Yeshiva University – the broad swath of the American modern Orthodox community – and ensure that the Congress takes their values into account.
Said AMIT current president Audrey Axelrod Trachtman, “I believe that the leaders of AMIT have a strong role to play at the Congress, not only in shaping Israel’s Diaspora commitments, but also in working to find common ground on many of the divisive issues currently affecting world Jewry.”
For more information on the 2020 U.S. elections for the World Zionist Congress and to get election updates, visit www.voteoic.org – Vote for Slate #4
