TRADITION Questions: Zionist Elections & Jewish Election
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What is it?
On March 10, an odd election began. As compared to governmental elections, no citizenship is necessary. As opposed to corporate elections, no stock ownership is required. Voting rights are determined simply by self-identification as a Jew (with no other religious identification) and as a Zionist. Elections for United States delegates to the 39th World Zionist Congress will conclude on May 4.
The outcomes of the vote are significant, as reported by the American Zionist Movement:
The 152 delegates who will be elected to represent the United States — amounting to approximately one-third of the 525 delegates Congress — will join with others from around the world to make key decisions regarding the leadership and priorities of the World Zionist Organization (WZO), the Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL-JNF), The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and Keren Hayesod. These decisions will dictate the course of over $1 billion in funding annually in support for Israel and world Jewry.
Where does this large sum of money come from? It’s ultimately a very complicated real estate trust owned by the entire Jewish people. JNF-KKL owns approximately 13% of the land in Israel, generating an annual income that belongs to the Jewish people. The history of Zionism creates a legal structure for land holdings distinct from that which exists in any other state. The land in this “trust” was purchased over the course of more than 100 years with money that came from the little blue JNF pushkas (among other sources) that Jews all over the world filled (and continue to fill).
Why does it matter?
Information about an upcoming World Zionist Organization election comes to Jews worldwide every five years, and then the organization quickly disappears into Israel’s vibrant woodwork. While news about the government elected by Israel’s citizens occupies a central place in Jewish life worldwide, news about the WZO, for whom Jews throughout the Diaspora vote, is typically muted. Like birkat ha-hamma – a rare blessing upon the sun’s renewal that occurs once every 28 years – the vestigial containers of Herzl’s international Zionism privilege a relatively simple action of Jews worldwide. Like birkat ha-hamma, it is something obscured with quizzical numerical calculations. Because these events take place rarely, there is little in terms of tradition to guide our thinking and action about them.
Perhaps, this explains low voter turnout. In 2015, 56,000 people voted; in 2020, it was 123,000. Early polling numbers indicate a higher turnout for this year’s election. However, this is still said to be only 2-3% of potential American Jewish voters. By comparison, in presidential elections, US voter turnout averages around 60%, and 40% in mid-term elections. It is then instructive to consider how much each vote is worth in WZO spending. Based on 2020 totals, each vote correlates with approximately $2,200 in funding allocations.
This year’s election has meaning beyond dollars. In explaining the issues in this year’s election, Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement said, “There are parties that want to use funding for religious pluralism, for Haredi institutions, for developing Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, for a two-state solution, and for just about every viewpoint in the Jewish world.” Block’s comments reflect some of the attention surrounding the success of Haredi parties in the 2020 election, as well as that involving the decline in votes received by parties aligned with the Conservative and Reform movements.
What questions remain?
How does the ownership of KKL-JNF land affect the Israeli real estate market?
Why should an American Zionist control the allocations of billions of dollars that from all appearances he or she did nothing to generate?
What does the role of voting in the WZO say about the formative value of democracy within Zionist organizations? What does it mean to have an “ownership” stake in JNF-KKL properties as a function of being Jewish? Does the charitable culture (that lies behind those little blue boxes) create an amorphous but uniquely moral democratic identity for contemporary Jews?
Classic Hasidic stories often involve princes who are unaware of their royalty – as a metaphor for hidden aspects of one’s Jewish identity – do voting rights in WZO elections inherit and propagate this idea of hidden Jewish chosen-ness?
Full Disclosure: The author is a member of the Orthodox Israel Coalition (OIC) – Mizrachi slate (5). Visit the website of the American Zionist Movement for more information on how to cast your vote and on the various slates.
Chaim Strauchler, rabbi of Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck, is an Associate Editor of TRADITION.