On January 21st, voting opened for the 38th international World Zionist Congress. For those of us who have never heard of the World Zionist Congress, it first formed in 1897 under the leadership of Theodor Herzl in an attempt to galvanize financial support from various Zionist organizations around the world.
Today, the World Zionist Organization holds elections every four years in order to appoint delegates representing diverse political beliefs, religious denominations, and cultural traditions. The delegates elected from the United States will join delegates from Israel and around the world at the 38th World Zionist Congress in October 2020. This parliament makes decisions regarding key Jewish institutions, which allocate nearly $1 Billion annually to support Israel and World Jewry, including the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency.
There are currently 15 slates up for election in this year’s WZO vote. The number of delegates each organization sends is dependent on how many votes they receive. Mercaz (slate 6) is the Zionist organization for the Conservative/Masorti movements. Mercaz fights for religious pluralism in Israel and they work to strengthen the connection between Israel and the Diaspora. For people who often seek out ways to support Israel to become increasingly open to non-Orthodox Jewish life and the value of religious pluralism, this vote has great significance. It is not merely symbolic, so we encourage everyone to take a few minutes to submit your vote. Please note that voting ends on March 11th.
If you want to vote Mercaz, please go to MERCAZ2020.org and do the following:
Step 1: Fill in your name and email. Then click 'Start Your Ballot'.
Please note - this is not the official voting site but will let MERCAZ know you’re with them!
Step 2: You will be taken immediately to: www.ZionistElection.org and click on ‘Register & Vote’.
Step 3: A payment page will then appear. Select your method of payment. Once you have entered your information click ‘Submit’. Accepted Methods of Payments: American Express; Visa; Mastercard; Discover; PayPal; Apple Pay; Google Pay; Debit Card; ACH/e-check. A ‘Voting PIN’ Code will then be sent to you by email or text.
Step 4: YOU ARE NOW READY TO VOTE! You will be asked to provide your email address and personal ‘Voting PIN’ Code. Retrieve your ‘Voting PIN Code’ by text message or email (whichever method you selected). Enter the information and click ‘Submit’.
Step 5: Last Step! Select the slate of your choice: MERCAZ Slate #6! Choose only one slate. Click the ‘Submit’ button to confirm you are voting for the slate you want and click ‘Vote’. YOU HAVE NOW VOTED. Mazel Tov!
