For the first time, groups promoting traditional religious values and Jewish rights in the entire Land of Israel will lead the American delegation to the 2020 World Zionist Congress. This comes according to initial results published this morning, and indicates a profound shift from five years ago, when liberal groups won a supermajority of delegates.
The biggest surprise is the sudden launch of Eretz HaKodesh, which claimed the third largest block (over 15% of votes) despite starting from scratch without the backing of a sponsoring organization. “Our motivation was to protect the holiness of the Land of Israel and cultivate traditional Jewish practices and beliefs,” said Rabbi Pesach Lerner, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values and leader of the Eretz HaKodesh campaign, “and we are grateful to all those who volunteered and voted on behalf of our new slate.”
Overall, the success of traditional parties indicates the degree to which American Jews are now expressing their Jewish affiliation in more traditional ways. Rabbi Moshe Parnes, Dean of the Hollywood Community Kollel in Hollywood, Florida and an Eretz HaKodesh delegate commented that “it’s so rewarding to see how many Jews, especially younger voters, are invested in preserving the Jewish character of the State of Israel. This vote will help solidify the future of the Jewish people and unify the Jewish nation around its eternal, unchanging principles.”
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“Thank G-d, many segments of the Jewish community took this matter seriously,” added Rabbi Yaniv Meirov, CEO of the Chazaq organization, “and we see that the new Eretz HaKodesh slate headed by Rabbi Lerner, and other pro-tradition slates, succeeded greatly. We will see increased holiness and Torah in the Land of Israel because of this.”
Marc Jacob, a lawyer in St. Louis, MO and an Eretz HaKodesh activist and delegate, said, “It is humbling that Eretz HaKodesh was able to achieve what we did in only our first year in these elections. When we started, we had no idea so many people would turn this into their cause, that so many esteemed rabbinic leaders would back our efforts or that, in the end, we would see such success. Now that we have a seat at the table, the real work begins.”
“This is a momentous occasion as we all stood up to the plate in recognition of the importance of building Torah in the Holy Land,” concluded Rabbi Yechezkel Moskowitz, an Eretz HaKodesh delegate and President of Chovevei Zion. “But this is just the beginning; now we must push forward and address the challenges that lie ahead of us.”
Voting for U.S. representatives to the World Zionist Congress (WZC), the international “parliament of the Jewish people,” ended on March 11, 2020 and was conducted primarily online at ZionistElection.org with thousands of paper ballots also sent in by postal mail. The results below are preliminary, including mailed ballots received to-date, and are subject to final certification by VOTEM, the election management company that is tallying the votes.
The seven-week US election for the World Zionist Congress garnered over 12,000 votes, more than double the turnout of the last election in 2015 and the highest number of votes since the election began for the entire American Jewish community 30 years ago. A total of 15 slates, comprised of nearly 1,800 candidates, were vying for 152 American seats for the Congress during the election organized and facilitated in the US by the American Zionist Movement (AZM). After the votes are certified the number of delegates per slate will be apportioned using a formula outlined in the official election rules which can be found here. The 38th World Zionist Congress is scheduled to be held in Jerusalem from October 20-22, 2020.
SLATE VOTES
Vote Reform 31,500
Orthodox Israel Coalition – Mizrachi 21,698
Eretz Hakodesh 20,023
MERCAZ USA 14,666
ZOA Coalition 10,313
American Forum for Israel 8,132
Hatikvah 7,932
Shas Olami 2,046
Kol Yisrael 1,752
Dorshei Torah V’Tziyon 1,373
Herut Zionists 1,157
Vision 1,036
Americans4Israel 857
Israel Shelanu 769
Ohavei Zion 375
2020 TOTAL 123,629
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8 Responses
what a chillul hashem
So how many of them are traditional/religious from them and is this the final vote or just one section of the vote?
lop (#1) is a 100% correct; it is a huge C”H. But the upside is that the EH slate, which certainly got a portion of votes from some non-chareidi voters too, still only managed to get 20k votes; whereas Boro Park (for example) alone has 100,000 Yidden.
Clearly, by and large the vast majority of the chareidi world skipped this whole debacle.
Rav Mazuz attributed the virus strictly to the acceptance of the LGBTQ and their parades.
At least of is attributable to the Chilul Hashem of joining the WZO, R”L
yudel, so according to Rav Mazuz, the Satmar Rebbe was stricken with the disease because of the acceptance of LGBTQ in Kiryat Yoel?
At least there’s still 20,023 ppl that still listen to our gedolim. Eretz hakodesh together with the other pro-torah slates will now have a majority of the American delegates. Btw the following is a list of some of the many Rabbanim that i personally know were for it: R Chaim Kanievsky, R Gershon Edelstein, R Shmuel Kamenetzky, R Elya Brudny, R Dovid Feinstein, R Reuvein Feinstein… I also know for a fact that some of the rabbanim that signed the talmedei r Ahron letter were tricked into signing it and there by making the whole letter into a shtar mezuyif
I hesitated at first but I am proud to say that I voted because R Chaim Kanievsky, said to vote.
To KShorom first of al,l anyone especially a godol betorah can give his opinion, however, only a novi can tell us for sure. Second Rashi says in Parshas Bo Perek 12 posk 22 The reason why the yidden had to stay in their homes during makas bechoros. The mashis doesn’t differentiate between good and bad during a plague.
My R”Y, R’ Tzvi Kushelevsky SHLIT”A, also said to vote.