| |  | | | | | | | Covering the U.S. election for the World Zionist Congress is a pretty thankless task because, frankly, who cares?
Most people have no idea why this "parliament of the Jewish people" still exists or what it actually does.
So, when I'm asked, as I often am, about why these elections, held every five years, matter, I put the answer bluntly: Money. Lots of it.
The World Zionist Congress – through the World Zionist Movement and its affiliate organizations (the Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Agency and the United Israel Appeal) – distributes an estimated $5 billion every five years to Jewish and Israeli causes . The delegates to the Zionist Congress are the people who get to decide how that money gets divvied up.
Many of the 22 slates running would love to see that money go to building new homes in West Bank settlements and turning Israel into a halakhic state. Many others would love to see that money allocated to liberal causes and to strengthening the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel.
Never has the battle between the two opposing visions of the Jewish state been as fierce as in this year's election – to the point that some parties have resorted to questionable tactics (to say the least) for winning votes.
This past week, we reported that three Orthodox parties have been sued in the Zionist Supreme Court – yes, there is such a thing – for offering money and financial incentives for votes. Even worse, we reported on suspicions of massive fraud in votes that were cast for two specific (as yet unnamed) parties.
And why is the U.S. election for the Zionist Congress so important? Because the Americans control about one-third of the seats, which is quite a big chunk. Israel controls a similar-sized bloc of seats, but the breakdown among them is predetermined by the relative share of each party in the current Knesset. In all the rest of the countries that have delegates to the Zionist Congress, elections are not necessarily held.
We will be waiting with bated breath for May 4, when the final results of this eight-weeks-long, online election will be announced. In the meantime, we will keep you posted on any new developments in what is turning out to be a surprisingly interesting election. | | |
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