At a time of crisis for the Jewish people, with an existential war in Israel and anti-Semitism on the rise, we have the opportunity to influence the Jewish future by voting in the elections for the World Zionist Congress. You can vote online at azm.org. Voting closes on May 4, so be sure to make your voice heard right away.
The World Zionist Congress will meet in October and will make decisions regarding key Jewish institutions and allocate nearly $1 billion to support Israel and world Jewry. This includes tuition assistance for gap-year students studying at yeshivos and midrashos in Israel, Israel education at our schools here in Queens, fighting BDS anti-Semitism on college campuses, building communities throughout Israel, and assisting Jews in Queens and around the world who choose to make the ultimate decision in support of Israel by going on aliyah.
In past elections, the Reform and Conservative movements and leftist organizations have mobilized their supporters to win a majority of the seats in the American delegation. They have used those results to claim that they represent American Jewry. In the 2020 elections, we mobilized our voters. Religious and nationalist slates won a majority of the seats, and our voices became more prominent.
At a time when many in public office, the media, and academia claim American Jews do not support Israel, a record turnout in the World Zionist Congress elections would be a powerful statement that the overwhelming majority of American Jews are united in support of Israel.
Some rabbanim have said that we should not vote in this election. But many rabbanim have stated that we must vote in this election. There are rabbanim, roshei yeshivah, and distinguished community leaders on several of the slates. The stakes are too high for us to sit this out.
You can register and vote online at azm.org. There is a $5 registration fee to cover the cost of administering the election. It is a small price to pay when billions of dollars for our institutions, the question of who represents American Jewry, and the future direction of Israel are at stake. To vote, you must be Jewish, 18 years old as of June 30, 2025, a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States, and not have voted in the 2022 Israeli elections. You must also affirm your commitment to the foundations of the Jerusalem Program, which, among other things, proclaims “the unity of the Jewish people, its bond to its historic homeland Eretz Yisrael, and the centrality of the State of Israel and Yerushalayim, its capital, in the life of the nation,” furthering Jewish education, fighting anti-Semitism, and supporting the IDF.
There are 22 slates running in the election. You vote for a slate, not individual candidates. Slates worthy of our consideration, in order of their appearance on the ballot, are Shas Olami, Orthodox Israel Coalition – Mizrachi, Aish HaAm, Eretz HaKodesh, and ZOA Coalition. For further information on the slates, go to azm.org.
This is one election in which there is no shortage of slates with principles we believe in and candidates who have earned our respect.
The navi Yeshayahu proclaimed, “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Yerushalayim’s sake I will not be still, till her victory emerges resplendent and her virtue like a flaming torch.” If we sit out the World Zionist Congress election, we will be leaving it to others to allocate $1 billion in Jewish charitable funds and influence the future direction of Israel and world Jewry. For the sake of Zion, we must not remain silent. For the sake of Yerushalayim, our voices must be heard.
Vote in the elections for the World Zionist Congress.
By Manny Behar
