Orthodox accused of trying to rig Zionist Congress election

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Six slates competing in the ongoing election for the World Zionist Congress in the United States are demanding election administrators disqualify two other slates following revelations of likely widespread voter fraud.

The demand was made in a letter sent Tuesday to the election committee of the American Zionist Movement, the organization that oversees the election. The six slates that signed the letter represent a range of political and religious viewpoints.

“The circumstances … are a huge embarrassment and a devastating blow which threatens the legitimacy of the elections,” said the letter, which was shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “The word that best applies here is ‘shanda’ — and at a moment when the entire Jewish world (and many others) are watching us.”

A unique institution originating in the 19th century, the World Zionist Congress gives Jews in the Diaspora a direct say in Israeli affairs and influence over a billion dollars a year in funding for Jewish causes. The election, which comes about every five years, is seen this year as a critical contest between competing visions for the Jewish state.

More than 123,000 votes for 21 slates have been cast halfway through the two-month voting period, according to the American Zionist Movement, which called the turnout “unprecedented.” Voting takes place online through May 4, and any Jew primarily living in the United States who is over 18 and agrees to a set of Zionist principles can participate after paying a $5 registration fee.

The organization’s election committee notified slates in a letter on Monday that it is investigating suspicious patterns of voting involving some 2,000 ballots that were cast in support of two slates. The letter was leaked to eJewish Philanthropy, which reported on its contents on Tuesday.

Many votes were registered to Orthodox yeshivas
A large number of the suspect votes were registered to the addresses of several Orthodox yeshivas and cast within minutes of each other. Many voters were tied to email addresses that appeared randomly generated or to anonymous prepaid debit cards. The two slates suspected of receiving fraudulent votes have not been named.

The six slates that sent a letter to election administrators called on them to identify and disqualify the suspect slates and divulge more information about how the fraudulent votes were discovered.

The letter was signed by ARZA, which represents Reform Judaism and Mercaz, which is affiliated with the Conservative movement. It was also signed by the liberal Orthodox slate, Dorshei Torah V’Tzion; Kol Israel, which is affiliated with the pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUS and the Israeli American Council; the America-Israel Democracy Coalition, which represents Israeli expats; and three groups that make up the progressive slate Hatikvah.

The suspicious voting patterns are not the first election integrity issue to come up in recent weeks. Promoters of the Orthodox slate Aish Ha’am allegedly offered to reimburse voters their registration fee in violation of election rules, while Am Yisrael Chai, which seeks to represent young adults, has been accused of vote-buying after offering voters prizes in a raffle.