NEW YORK – Voting for US representatives to the 38th World Zionist Congress, the “parliament of the Jewish people” will begin on January 21 and continue through March 11. The congress, comprised of representatives of Jewish communities around the world, will convene in Jerusalem in October. A total of 14 slates, comprised of over 1,800 candidates, will vie for 152 American seats for the congress during the election organized and facilitated in the US by the American Zionist Movement (AZM).
For those seven weeks, American residents who identify as Jewish and are 18 years or older are eligible to vote at ZionistElection.org. The election will be primarily online, with an option for mail-in ballots. Those elected from the United States will join delegates from Israel and around the world to make decisions regarding the priorities of the World Zionist Organization, Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the allocation of nearly $1 billion annually in support for Israel and world Jewry.
Visit ZionistElection.org to view each slate’s platform and candidates.
“AZM is proud to facilitate this historic election where millions of American Jews are eligible to participate,” said Herbert Block, Executive Director of the American Zionist Movement. “This election illustrates how powerful each voice can be in strengthening Zionism and world Jewry.”
Since the last World Zionist Congress in 2015, American interest in participating has grown, and a record number of groups expressed interest in participating in the 2020 election. The 14 slates running in the 2020 World Zionist Congress elections are, in ballot order:
- Eretz Hakodesh: Protecting the Kedusha and Mesorah of Eretz Yisrael
- Vote Reform: ARZA Representing the Reform Movement and Reconstructing Judaism
- Israel Shelanu (Our Israel)
- Orthodox Israel Coalition – Mizrachi: Vote Torah
- Vision: Empowering the Next Generation
- MERCAZ USA: The Voice of Conservative/Masorti Judaism
- Dorshei Torah V’Tziyon: Torah and Israel for All
- Hatikvah: Progressive Israel Slate
- Ohavei Zion: World Sephardic Zionist Organization
- Herut Zionists: The Jabotinsky Movement
- ZOA Coalition: Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Torah from Sinai, MIG (Make Israel Great) & National Pro-Israel Partners – Courageously Defending Israel, Sovereignty & the Jewish People
- American Forum for Israel
- Americans4Israel: Unity, Peace & Security
- Kol Yisrael: For the Love of Israel: Making Zionism Compelling in the 21st Century
Visit ZionistElection.org to learn more and sign up for updates.
To be eligible to vote in the US election for the 38th World Zionist Congress, voters must:
- Be 18 years of age or above
- Be a permanent resident or citizen of the United States
- Be Jewish
- Not vote or plan to vote in the March 2 Knesset election
- Affirm their commitment to the Jerusalem Program
Registration and voting will open on January 21, 2020 at ZionistElection.org. The fee to register and vote is $7.50, or $5 for those 18-25, which goes to cover the administrative costs of the election.
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About the American Zionist Movement (AZM)
The American Zionist Movement (AZM) is comprised of 33 national Jewish Zionist organizations and works across a broad ideological, political and religious spectrum linking the American Jewish community together in support of Israel, Zionism and the Jewish people. Learn more at azm.org.
