The following is a primer on the upcoming Zionist Congress elections.
What: Elections of representatives to the World Zionist Congress, slated for Dec. 22-26 in Jerusalem. The Congress decides policy for the World Zionist Organization, which has joint oversight of the $400 million budget of the Jewish Agency for Israel. The United States is assigned 152 of about 525 congressional delegates with full voting rights. Slates will be put forward by about 10 Zionist religious and secular parties and organizations.
Participating parties: The organizations most likely to field slates will include:
The American Friends of Likud
Association of Reform Zionists of America
Mercaz (Conservatives)
B’nai Zion
American Jewish League for Israel
Labor Zionist Alliance
Na’amat USA
Americans for Progressive Israel
Amit Women
Emunah of America
Religious Zionists of America
Zionist Organization of America
When: Registration forms are due as of now on June 1, though organizers are considering extending the registration period. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed out to registrants by summer’s end. They must be submitted by the end of September.
Who: Any Jew 18 or older who endorses the Jerusalem Program embracing Zionist principles, pays $2 and fills out the official registration form.
To request a registration form, call next week: 1-800-598-8445.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
