Please Register by 13th May and then vote 8-12 th June
If you care about an egalitarian Israel protecting our values then please read this.
What is the World Zionist Congress?
The World Zionist Congress (WZC) is the international “parliament of the Jewish people”. It is a gathering of Jewish representatives from around the world, which happens every five years. Israeli political parties sit alongside Jewish denominations and institutions for a few days of debate, deliberation and voting.
What does the World Zionist Congress do?
It makes decisions about the allocation of almost £4bn 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 and can be used for progressive and pro-democracy causes, or they can go towards anti-democratic initiatives, opposition to religious pluralism and discrimination against LGBTQ+ families, Bedouin communities and so on. The congress also decides the senior leadership of key Israeli institutions who are really influential.
So why me?
Every five years, we get to vote in the World Zionist Congress, which determines where these funds are allocated; they can either support liberal Jewish life in Israel or fuel an extremist agenda. Your vote determines where those resources go. 19 UK delegates will represent our voices in Jerusalem — and your vote helps decide who they are.
The Reform Judaism website says
“Right wing, religious fundamentalists are organizing against us with plans to roll back all the issues we care about – to chip away at Israel’s democracy; to roll back gains for LGBTQ+ rights, gender equity, and religious pluralism; to strip our Israeli Reform clergy and communities of their rights, funding, and infrastructure and make sure that our converts and children are not welcome in the Jewish state; to block any hope of Palestinian self-determination and safety.
They want to write the next chapter of Jewish history and write us out of it – our values of pursuing justice demand that we cannot allow this to happen. We are organising and mobilizing to ensure that they do not succeed.”
This opportunity arises just once every five years. Please register this weekend and vote by 12th June to create a Jewish State we can be proud of.
How to register?
You MUST register before 13th May.
To be eligible to register to vote, you must;
- Be Jewish
- Be 18 years or older by 30 June 2025
- Be a permanent UK resident
- Accept the Jerusalem Program (the official platform of the World Zionist Organisation)
- Have not voted in the November 2022 Knesset election or another WZC election elsewhere
For registration, you will need to upload a photo of your ID (passport or driver’s license) and pay £1 registration fee.
Register to vote and follow the instructions here - https://uk.eventmagix.com/
Or scan this with your QR scanner on your phone to go to that website:
Voting
When you go to vote online in June there are nine slates to choose from.
The Liberal and Reform movements are running a joint slate with the Masorti movement in the UK called ‘Our Israel’. [It might be on the ballot as Our Israel – Mercaz UK, Pro Zion Arzenu]
A vote for this slate is a vote for:
- Peace
- Pluralism
- LGBTQ+ rights
- Women’s rights
- Returning our hostage
- Strengthening our Jewish communities
For further information
Lots more information and advice can be found here:
https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/shape-israels-tomorrow-your-voice-matters/
https://masorti.org.uk/programmes-and-services/mercaz-masorti-for-israel/
https://www.arzenu.uk/what-we-stand-for