Sunday is the last day for the 39th World Zionist Congress elections, in which a record twenty-two organizations, including nine new entities, vie for more than $1 billion of funding and the ability to have a voice in Israel’s future in “the parliament of the Jewish people.” The more than 2,900 candidates on the ballot from 43 U.S. states and territories represent a significant increase from 2020, when 14 slates ran about 1,800 candidates. Each slate will be assigned a proportion of congressional seats based on the percentage of the vote it earns. U.S. voters, both on paper and online, will elect 152 delegates—about one-third of the 500 seats. The other 348 are allocated to Israel and the rest of the Diaspora.
Voters must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents at least 18 years old by June 30. They can register and vote online or request paper ballots. A $5 registration and voting fee covers costs of operating the election. Voters must maintain primary residence in the United States, be Jewish, not subscribe to another faith and accept the Zionist movement platform the Jerusalem Program, which, in part, “views a Jewish, Zionist, democratic and secure State of Israel to be the expression of the common responsibility of the Jewish people for its continuity and future.”
People who voted in November 2022 in the Knesset election or who intend to vote in a future Knesset election before July 28 are also ineligible.
With elections every 4-5 years, the World Zionist Congress has historically been dominated by left-wing and progressive Zionist groups, which 1JState claims have pushed dangerously for the Two State Solution and detached Zionism from its biblical roots.
For the first time, Israel365 Action is running to have a say in the future of Israel. The organization says it’s working against the “land for peace delusion,” as well as discrimination against Jews in Judea and Samaria. The group is aligned with American Jewish Conservatives and the American Faith Coalition.
With a list of 100 delegate candidates, Israel365 Action advocates for alliances with faith-based Christians, which the slate calls “our truest friends” and “most reliable allies.” It is heavily critical of the American Jewish establishment, whose “Oct. 6 mindset has catastrophically failed us,” according to the group.
Israel365 Action stands on three core principles: the need for new, courageous Zionist leadership in the aftermath of October 7th; unwavering support for Jewish rights to the entire land of Israel and rejection of the two-state solution; and strengthening bonds with Israel’s steadfast allies worldwide, particularly faith communities.
Theodor Herzl established the Zionist Congress in 1897 as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. The World Zionist Organization elects the officers and decides on the policies of the WZO and the Jewish Agency, including “determining the allocation of funds.”
Any Jew over age 18 who belongs to a Zionist association is eligible to vote, and there are 500 elected delegates to the Congress. 38% of the delegates are allocated to Israel, 29% to the United States of America, and 33% to the remainder of the countries of the Diaspora. In addition, about 100 delegates are appointed by International Organizations affiliated with WZO.
