Perhaps more than at any other time in recent history, Australian Jewry has an opportunity this month to have a strong voice in the future direction of Israel, through the elections for the 39th World Zionist Congress (WZC).
In the wake of the October 7 pogrom and 21 months of war, Jewish thinking around the globe has been electrified, and the bonds between Israel and the Diaspora have been sharpened.
Founded by Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl in 1897, the WZC is the “Jewish parliament”, a compact between Israel and Diaspora Jewish communities that today enables any Jewish person anywhere in the world, aged 18 or above, who is a permanent resident of their country, who has not voted in an Israeli national election, and who accepts the Jerusalem Program, a platform of fundamental Zionist principles, to cast a ballot to decide the composition of the 525 delegates to the WZC.
Mandates are proportionally allocated, with 38 per cent to Israel (200 seats), 29 per cent to the US (152 seats), and the remaining 33 per cent (173 seats) to Jewish communities in other countries and to their World Zionist Organisation (WZO)-affiliated communal organisations.
The WZC convenes every five years. In Australia, Jewish organisations affiliated to parent organisations in Israel have historically been allocated mandates based on the size of membership in their movement. Until now, direct elections, which draw heavily on communal resources, have been foregone by consensus.
Under the 38th WZC, which met in 2020, Mizrachi Australia, affiliated to the Mizrachi-led Orthodox Israel Coalition, has four delegates, the Progressive organisations affiliated to the World Union for Progressive Judaism have four delegates, Mercaz (Masorti) has two, Meretz and Ameinu (now uniting as Hatikvah) have two, and Likud has one.
However, for the 39th WZC, to be held in Jerusalem between October 28-30 this year, voting procedures have changed. At least since the 37th WZC in 2015, proportional allocation of mandates has been increasingly queried as an inadequate mirror of opinion in the Diaspora.
Under direct elections, any eligible Jewish individual can cast a ballot, even if they are unaffiliated. In the US, where voting for the WZC took place from March to May this year, the new arrangements have already produced a changed make-up.
The new voting system has drawn the interest of ultra-Orthodox Diaspora communities, with a significant rise in their participation. The Times of Israel reported that US voting saw a record 230,257 votes cast, of which more than 100,000 came from Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox voters, who managed to win 81 of the 152 US seats, with liberally oriented organisations managing only 71.
While the US Reform movement drew the most votes, Am Yisrael Chai promoting “love of Torah and Judaism” came in second. Already active at the 2020 WZC, Eretz Hakodesh (Holy Land), with links to Israel’s Charedi-based United Torah Judaism party, came in third, with almost 13 per cent of the total votes. On its website, the organisation speaks of empowering Charedi Jews in the Diaspora with a stronger voice in determining Israel’s future.
World Zionist Organisation chair Yaakov Hagoel, a former chair of World Likud, says October 7 created a “need to sharpen our focus”. After the US WZC results emerged, Hagoel reflected, “For the first time, the conservative and right-wing bloc has achieved a clear majority. This is a historic moment in which American Jewry has voiced a strong stand for proud Zionism.”
The US voting patterns make an interesting template for Australia’s Jewish community, where online voting takes place between July 1 and July 27, under the auspices of the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA)’s Area Election Committee.
As election month proceeds, volunteers are now phoning potential voters, operating voting booths at communal centres and circulating flyers.
Mizrachi came fifth in the US election. Danny Lamm, a veteran of Australia’s Mizrachi movement, tells The AJN he is encouraged by the entry of Eretz Hakodesh in the Australian WZC voting, and welcomes the prospect of a stronger Orthodox voice from Australia.
“Mizrachi welcomes the fact that people who may previously not have been participating in the elections are coming on board and wanting to identify themselves as Zionist.”
But he says there is a likelihood that some of the voting for the new ultra-Orthodox group will come at the cost of votes for Mizrachi.
Rabbi Alexander Tsykin, a former rabbi of Brighton Shule in Melbourne, was contacted by Eretz Hakodesh founder and chairman Rabbi Pesach Lerner last year and has taken up the US rabbi’s invitation to garner support for Eretz Hakodesh to contest the 2025 WZC elections in Australia. The campaign will focus on four Orthodox congregations in Melbourne and possibly one in Sydney.
Rabbi Tsykin tells The AJN, “Bringing our communities into a movement that represents the entire Jewish people is really important. Historically, the very frum end of the community has not been represented in the Zionist movement.
“We’d like to achieve that representation, with a goal to furthering our priorities to bring Torah goals into the world Zionist movement and to represent our people’s interests.”
Criticising the allocation model, he says, “I’m sure it was unintended, but it’s had the effect of disenfranchising Australian Jews.”
Australian Friends of Likud convenor Alex Goodman tells the AJN he is buoyed by the introduction of direct elections and hopes to see his organisation gain an extra mandate.
He is encouraged by the outcome of the US WZC elections. “From my point of view, I’d rather see centre-right strengths, for the centre-right to have a majority.”
Hatikvah, a new liberal, secular organisation comprising the Meretz and Ameinu movements, is contesting the Australian WZC elections. Among its organisers are communal figures Leon Orbach, Dan Samowitz, Romy Zyngier, Hallely Kimchi and Nirit Eylon.
Hatikvah has a significant number of Israelis living in Australia on board. Kimchi recently stepped down as convenor of Habayit, a support organisation she founded for Israelis in Australia. Eylon is known for organising Melbourne rallies for the release of the hostages.
Hatikvah states on its website, “In the wake of October 7 and amid an ongoing, multi-front war, decisions are being made that will shape Israel’s recovery, the future of Zionism, and Jewish life around the world for generations to come. Extremist and ultra-Orthodox parties are working to reshape Israel’s character — moving it away from the democratic, inclusive vision laid out in its Declaration of Independence.”
Orbach is a self-described “Habo boy” who grew up in the Habonim youth movement in Melbourne. He worked on a kibbutz for seven years before returning to Australia. His children were in Hashomer Hatzair and he has been strongly involved in Meretz Australia. He says the amalgamation of Meretz and Ameinu in Australia to establish Hatikvah has been driven by secular Jews, including many Israelis.
“It’s pretty unique for Australia that Israelis are engaging in the local Jewish community in a really strong, positive way and for the ZFA to muster this kind of support,” he says.
Orbach sees October 7 as a trigger for local Israelis to become more involved in the Jewish community. It matters to Israelis in Australia where the Israeli government and the WZC spends its funding – and they would like to see a greater emphasis on Israel’s devastated south and north, and less on funding settlements. Some Hatikvah members are in the New Israel Fund (NIF) but The AJN has been told NIF is not funding Hatikvah.
Nirit Eylon, a professional swimming coach, first visited Australia before the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and has been living here permanently for almost 20 years. She sees October 7 as a watershed moment in the relationship between Israelis and other Jews in Australia. “Previously we were more side-by-side, but since October 7, we’ve learned how to work together better.”
With a small group of Israelis in Melbourne, Eylon co-founded United With Israel, which holds weekly rallies in Caulfield Park to campaign for the release of the hostages. The rallies also raise money to help recovery in Israel, with projects such as art therapy for children, subsidising mental health for evacuees in the north, and funding firefighting equipment.
Her role in United With Israel led to an invitation to join the team launching Hatikvah for the WZC elections. “I want to make sure Israel remains a democracy and pluralist. I want to make sure the WZC funds go to rebuild Israel and I want us to have a voice in the community.”
Eylon sees the WZC elections as an opportunity for change and a door opened to unaffiliated Jews. “This year is the first time there are elections — and it’s also the first time we have an opportunity to bring in our voice as well. This is an opportunity, where a significant amount of money is donated, to make sure it goes to the right places.”
Yaron Shavit, deputy chair of the Jewish Agency and a former chair of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, visited Australia last month. One of his goals was issuing an urgent message for centrist-oriented Jews. While Sephardi Charedim and more recently Ashkenazi Charedim have been welcomed into the WZC, he says they need to adhere to the Jerusalem Program, which includes “the understanding and the acceptance of the fact that there is a multi-faceted Judaism”.
“There’s a lot at stake here in these elections, and there are certain values that are on the table and perhaps are in danger. These include equality among the streams of Judaism, recognition of all Jewish marriages, funding for Progressive Jewish communities in Israel, and the general principle of a democratic, inclusive Israel.”
The Australian Reform Zionist Association (ARZA) is running a joint ticket with Masorti Australia. On the ARZA website, its president Ayal Marek, who is deputy president of the Union for Progressive Judaism, states that the WZC “determines who controls the leadership and budgets of major Zionist institutions. The outcome will shape how millions in funding are allocated, with a significant impact on Jewish Progressive life in Australia across education and shlichim.”
ARZA-Masorti and Hatikvah may well be competing for some like-minded voters. But speaking to The AJN, Marek emphasises that the ARZA-Masorti ticket represents the only liberally-oriented religious campaign and is distinct from secular/liberal ideology. “As streams of Judaism, we are uniquely situated to stand up against far-right religious extremism”.
Marek says secular groups “are saying they stand for similar values, but where does it translate into action?” Funding for the Reform movement in Israel, which will be determined by the composition of the 39th WZC, “represents actions on the ground”, he argues, as it will foster the growing network of Israel’s Progressive synagogue communities.
More broadly, Orbach points out that this month’s voting will offer an opportunity for a much clearer analysis of the Australian Zionist community’s political affiliations than any academic research has so far been able to offer. “It will be interesting to see if there’s something new in the air.”
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