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What are they and why do they matter?
The 39th World Zionist Congress is being held in 2025, and UK elections for delegates to the congress are coming up. Voter registration takes place 8 April – 13 May. This is the crucial time to spread the word, since only people who register in this period can vote. The election is 8-12 June.
What is the World Zionist Congress?
The World Zionist Congress (WZC), the international “parliament of the Jewish people”, is a gathering of Jewish representatives from around the world, which happens every 5 years. Israeli political parties sit alongside Jewish denominations and institutions for a few days of debate, deliberation and voting.
What does the WZC do and why does it matter?
It makes decisions about the allocation of £3.8bn of government funds in Israel and the diaspora over the next 5 years. These funds go to different projects in Israel and Jewish institutions around the world, including Zionist Federations in diaspora Jewish communities, religious denominations, and youth movements. They can be used for progressive and pro-democracy causes, or they can go towards increased settlement construction, anti-democratic initiatives, opposition to religious pluralism and far-right causes. For an example of the platform on which right-wing slates are campaigning, see this video (it is from the USA but similar slates are standing in the UK election). The only way to prevent slates like these controlling the congress is by enough people voting for progressive slates.
The congress also decides the senior leadership of key Israeli institutions: the World Zionist Organisation (WZO), the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund (JNF-KKL), and Keren HaYesod (together known as the ‘national institutions’). These institutions influence and affect many issues that are important to Diaspora Jews, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, religious pluralism, gender and LGBTQ+ equality. For example, the JNF-KKL is the biggest land owner in Israel and who controls it hugely influences issues related to allocation of land and land ownership in the West Bank.
Who can vote?
Anyone who is Jewish and over 18 can vote.
There’s a £1 registration fee and you’ll be asked for photo ID.
What is Yachad’s position?
Yachad encourages British Jews to vote in the election in support of democracy, progressive causes and a path to peace, by voting for one of two slates – Jewish Labour-Meretz: For a Democratic Israel and Our Israel (Arzenu/Mercaz – Reform, Liberal and Masorti Judaism). These are the two slates that most align with our values.
The reason we are not encouraging members of other religious denominations to vote for their denominational slates is because some of these are pursuing an anti-peace and anti-democratic agenda in Israel – for example the Orthodox Israel Coalition (Mizrachi) works at the WZO to channel funds to settlement construction.
When is the election?
Voter registration takes place 8 April – 13 May. This is the crucial time to spread the word, since only people who register in this period can vote. The election is 8-12 June.
This has been posted by Yachad Ltd.