Four Reasons I’m Voting for ARZA (forwarded)

When Israel was established 50 years later (almost exactly as Herzl had predicted), the World Zionist Congress continued to play a role in the nation’s development. It does so today mainly through the Jewish National Fund, which manages land use in Israel; the Jewish Agency for Israel, which deals with immigration and absorption; and the World Zionist Organization, which sets Jewish educational priorities.

The Congress is composed of 500 delegates (190 from Israel, 145 from the United States, and 165 from other countries). Each competing party – there are 11 in the U.S. – is eligible to receive a proportionate share of the organization’s annual $475 million budget, based on how many seats it wins.

I am voting in this election because doing so gives me a voice in world Jewish affairs. It is the only opportunity I have, as a Diaspora Jew, to exercise my democratic right to weigh in on Israeli issues and policies that affect Jews everywhere. I cast my vote for the ARZA (Association of Reform Zionists of America): Representing Reform Judaism slate, headed by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. Here’s why:

1. ARZA’s platform advocates religious pluralism and gender equality in Israel and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – all positions I strongly support. Were ARZA to win a large proportion of the 145 American seats, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism would secure the funding it needs to build additional Reform congregations in Israel. Since the last WZO election in 2006, in which ARZA won 39% of the U.S. seats, Reform institutions in Israel received more than $20 million. These funds contributed significantly to a doubling of Reform congregations in Israel over a 10-year period.
2. According to ARZA director Rabbi Josh Weinberg, the Reform Movement’s showing in the last elections landed Reform Jews into key positions in the World Zionist Organization and in the Jewish National Fund, which helps determine what lands will be made available for settlement and plays a key ecological role in Israel.
3. If American Reform Jews don’t vote for ARZA in large numbers, it will send a message that our Movement does not care enough about the future of Israel. Moreover, a poor showing would strengthen the hand of the hawkish and Orthodox factions, which advocate the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Right-wing parties would also gain in strength if Reform Jews split our vote among the other liberal slates in the election.
4. At a time when anti-Zionist propaganda seeks to draw a distinction between the Jewish people and the State of Israel, I want to declare the centrality of Israel to my identity as a Jew.

You are eligible to vote if you are a U.S. resident, will be 18 or older by June 2015, and accept the Jerusalem Program (which is presented on the registration form). The cost of voting – which covers election expenses – is a nominal $10, or just $5 for voters under 30. To register and vote, simply visit ReformJews4Israel.org and click “vote now.” Paper ballots are available upon request from the ARZA office by emailing WZC2015@arza.org, or on the ARZA website. Elections run through April 30, 2015.

Aron Hirt-Manheimer is Union for Reform Judaism’s Editor-at-Large.