Shalom All,
I told you about the URJ Biennial that I attend in last month’s column. In addition to the study sessions and the keynotes, the friends and the food, there were signs and buttons all over that said “Vote Reform.” They were referring to the World Zionist Congress elections that are happening now through March 11th.
The World Zionist Congress is known as “The Parliament of the Jewish People.” The United States gets 152 delegates who, along with hundreds of others from Israel and around the world, will meet in October 2020 to set policies regarding Jewish life and to allocate nearly $1 Billion annually to support Israel and World Jewry.
This is one of the places where American Jews can help shape Israel policies to be more inclusive of Progressive Jewish values.
Any Jew, 18 years or older, who is a permanent resident of the United States, can vote in this election. It’s $5 for anyone under 25, and $7.50 for those of us who are older than that. The official website for you’re vote can be found at zionistelection.org. There is more information about the Congress if you scroll down the page.
You can, of course, vote for any one of the 15 slates running. Each of the platforms can be found by following their individual links. Since we are Reform Jews, and ARZA (the American Reform Zionist Association) is part of our Movement I encourage you to “Vote Reform.”
Shalom, and may all your voices be heard.
Rabbi Todd