Vote Mercaz in the World Zionist Congress elections

What does Mercaz stand for?

Mercaz is the Zionist organisation of worldwide Masorti Judaism. Its goals are to:

• Help Israel heal and rebuild after October 7th
• Protect democracy in the Jewish state
• Promote religious pluralism in Israel
• Support Masorti/Conservative communities in Israel and worldwide

These goals reflect core, inclusive Masorti Jewish values. We can all unite around these objectives, while recognising the wide range of political views that exist within our communities.

In this election we are running a joint list, OUR ISRAEL, with the Reform and Liberal movements. While we have different religious perspectives, we share the same Zionist values and vision for a Jewish Democratic Israel. Mercaz and the Reform Zionist movement, Arzenu, work closely together in the WZO.

What are we voting for?

We are electing delegates to The World Zionist Congress, the supreme governing body of the Zionist Movement, which in turn controls the World Zionist Organisation, KKL/JNF and the Jewish Agency (JAFI). The UK has 19 out of 500+ delegates.

• The WZO is its executive branch, the “day-to-day” arm of the organization.
• KKL/JNF owns 13% of Israel’s land, it generates up to $2 billion in revenue each year, and can invest that revenue in the social and political priorities of whoever has power on its board. This can go to combating climate change and strengthening pluralistic Jewish education, or to strengthening ultra-Orthodox institutions and their narrow agenda.
• The Jewish Agency spends hundreds of millions annually on Jewish education through programs like shlichim in communities and summer camps and on the aliyah process.

Our votes shape the balance of power in these organisations. Will they support our values and communities, or fall into the hands of factions who want to support extremists and shut us out?

How does the election work?

The election runs on list-based proportional representation. This means each party puts up a slate of candidates, voters cast a ballot for one of these lists, and the mandates are allocated on the basis of percentage of votes cast. For example, if OUR ISRAEL gets 30% of the vote we will get 30% of the UK’s 19 mandates – a total of 5 or 6.

The UK election will run from June 8-12 with voter registration open from April 8 to May 11. The election is administered by an ‘Area Election Committee’ made up of representatives of all parties competing, and supported by the UK Zionist Federation.

Who can vote?

To vote you have to…

• Be 18+, a UK resident and Jewish (by self-definition)
• Sign up to the Jerusalem Programme, the WZO’s statement of principles (see below)
• And have not voted in the last Israeli elections.

Voters must pre-register – this involves a photo ID check and paying a £1 fee. The registration website address will be published before April 8 – check in at masorti.org.uk/mercaz for updates.

Who’s running against us?

OUR ISRAEL’s main competitors include:

• Eretz Hakodesh – a new haredi (ultra-Orthodox) faction who are running on an anti-Masorti/Reform platform
• Mizrachi – the religious Zionist organisation, now affiliated with the Religious Zionism and Jewish Power parties in Israel (Smotrich and Ben Gvir)
• Likud – the worldwide movement of current PM Binyamin Netanyahu
• Labour and Meretz – representing Israeli centre-left and left-wing parties
• Plus a range of other, smaller factions

How many votes do we need?

Mercaz and Arzenu currently hold 7 UK mandates – 37% of the total. We want to increase this number.

There have not been elections in the UK for many years, so we have no idea how many people will vote. However, based on voting rates in the USA, a rough guestimate is that 6000-8000 people are likely to vote here.

We therefore need to get at least 2000-3000 votes. To play our part, Masorti communities need to generate up to 1500 votes. This means getting over one third of our total membership to cast a ballot.

Can people vote if they have not registered?

No – this is why the voter registration period is absolutely critical.

What else can we do?

The best way of getting votes is to go person to person within your community, asking people by phone, whatsapp and in person to vote. It’s all about relationships.

“Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, brought about the establishment of the State of Israel, and views a Jewish, Zionist, democratic and secure State of Israel to be the expression of the common responsibility of the Jewish people for its continuity and future. 

The foundations of Zionism are: 

• The unity of the Jewish people, its bond to its historic homeland Eretz Yisrael, and the centrality of the State of Israel and Jerusalem, its capital, in the life of the nation; 
• Strengthening Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state and shaping it as an exemplary society with a unique moral and spiritual character, marked by mutual respect for the multi-faceted Jewish people, rooted in the vision of the prophets, striving for peace and contributing to the betterment of the world. 
• Ensuring the future and the distinctiveness of the Jewish people by furthering Jewish, Hebrew and Zionist education, fostering spiritual and cultural values and teaching Hebrew as the national language; 
• Nurturing mutual Jewish responsibility, defending the rights of Jews as individuals and as a nation, representing the national Zionist interests of the Jewish people, and struggling against all manifestations of anti-Semitism; 
• Settling the country as an expression of practical Zionism
• Encouraging recruitment and service in the Israel Defense Forces and the security forces and strengthening them as the protective force of the Jewish people living in Zion, as well as encouraging full National Service for anyone exempted in law from service in the IDF.”