Want progressives to have a greater say over the future of Israel?
VOTE HATIKVAH
Dear Friend,
When progressives band together, the far right gets nervous.
And our progressive slate for the World Zionist Congress election -- a slate comprised of members of J Street, Americans for Peace Now, T’ruah, NCJW, New Israel Fund and other allied organizations -- is making the far right very, very nervous.
They don’t want to see pro-Israel, anti-occupation Americans have a real say in an organization that oversees the distribution of $1 billion annually and helps steer the direction of the Jewish Agency and Jewish National Fund.
Obviously, they have not been thrilled by the surge in voter turnout our coalition -- the HATIKVAH Slate -- has mobilized. Our early push led to a nearly 400% increase in first-week voting, and it looks like we’re going to see a significant increase in overall participation once all the votes are counted.
That’s why they’re coming after us with ugly attacks. “The Jewish Left is trying to hijack Israel,” read an op-ed headline in the conservative Washington Examiner. “Protect the 2020 World Zionist Congress -- and its $1 billion budget -- from anti-Israel activists,” warned an email from the Zionist Organization of America.
It takes a lot of gall for these groups to accuse Jews of trying to hijack or ‘seize’ an organization that was designed to give all of world Jewry a say over the future of Israel.
But there’s a simple way to respond to these attacks. Vote.
If enough Jewish Americans vote for the HATIKVAH Slate -- or our friends on the ARZA and MERCAZ slates -- we can bring about an end to right-wing domination of the World Zionist Congress and help steer a new course for the World Zionist Organization.
We can create new transparency rules and prevent funds from being allocated to West Bank settlements. We can put resources toward coexistence programs that bring Israelis and Palestinian together -- and make sure funds aren’t going toward legal battles to move Palestinians off their land and tear communities apart.
The fact that we’re making the far right nervous is proof that we’re generating a lot of enthusiasm for our slate. But it also means they’re going to be pulling out all the stops to defeat us.
If we’re going to succeed in organizing a progressive revolution at the WZO, we need Jewish Americans who share our values to vote in this election.
Please take a moment today to vote for the HATIKVAH Slate.
Thank you for your support,
Shaina Wasserman
J Street National Director of Rabbinic and Community Engagement
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