Members of the Israeli branch of the Masorti/Conservative movement’s Mercaz Olami paid to publish and distribute posters in Haredi neighborhoods in Israel that equated Zionism with idolatry and heresy as part of an influence campaign aimed at driving a wedge between the Israeli Haredi public and the Haredi officials involved in the World Zionist Organization, specifically those connected to the Eretz Hakodeh slate.

The efforts by the Zionist arm of the Masorti movement were first reported by the Israeli Haredi outlet Kikar HaShabbat, and have now been confirmed to eJewishPhilanthropy by WZO Vice Chair Yizhar Hess, who serves as the head of Mercaz Olami and was behind the campaign, as well as a WZO spokesperson.

Though the posters were put up during the World Zionist Congress elections in the United States — and explicitly say that people should not participate in them — a WZO spokesperson told eJP that Hess’ intention was not to impact the vote in the U.S. but as part of an internal dispute between Israeli factions within the WZO and KKL. The posters also could not have a direct impact on the elections as they were put up in Haredi neighborhoods in Israel, whose residents could not vote in the American World Zionist Congress elections, which ended earlier this month.

Though the poster campaign does not appear to be illegal or otherwise violate WZO bylaws, it has drawn criticism for its subterfuge and its anti-Zionist messaging, particularly in light of the unrelated suspicions of widespread fraud in the American World Zionist Congress elections, which the American branch of Mercaz Olami has repeatedly condemned.

“It’s not illegal and it’s not fraudulent, [but] it’s below the belt,” David Yaari, the vice chairman of Keren Kayemet Le’Yisrael-Jewish National Fund and chair of the Kol Israel slate, told eJP. 

The posters that were put up in Haredi neighborhoods in Israel highlighted prominent Lithuanian Rabbi Dov Lando’s criticism of the WZO and Zionism overall, as well as his halachic ruling against involvement in the World Zionist Congress elections. They were meant to appear as though they were put up by members of the Haredi community and were signed “the pained sons of the Torah.”

”The Zionist Organization was created with the goal of turning the Jewish people into a secular people,” the posters read, quoting Lando. “You cannot participate in their institutions… It is idolatry. It is heresy like idolatry and even worse… It is a very, very, very serious prohibition to vote in the [Zionist] organization’s elections.” 

In addition to quoting Lando, the posters also called for specific Haredi political figures — Moshe Gafni and Shmuel Litov — to abide by his rulings. Gafni serves in the Knesset as part of the United Torah Judaism party; Litov is the CEO of the municipality of Bnei Brak and is the deputy chairman of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund — a massive grantmaker controlled by the World Zionist Congress — on behalf of the Eretz HaKodesh party.

“[Moshe] Gafni and [Shmuel] Litov, don’t disregard the words of [Rabbi Lando]!” the posters read. 

Opposition to Zionism and its institutions is a common ideology in many Haredi communities in both Israel and the United States. At the end of March, Agudath Israel of America — a leading organization representing Haredi Jews — issued a statement opposing involvement in the elections. Leading American Haredi rabbinic leaders also held an event in Lakewood, N.J., opposing Haredi involvement in the elections earlier this spring. 

In light of Haredi theological opposition to Zionism, Hess described the participation of Haredi slates in the World Zionist Organization — often in coordination with Israeli Haredi politicians who expressly oppose Zionism — as a disingenuous attempt to access Zionist institutions’ funding.

“Top ultra-Orthodox leaders who proudly reject Zionism have used their proxy, Eretz HaKodesh, to join the Zionist Congress and National Institutions just to access their funds. Israel’s future as a strong, Jewish and democratic state is at stake. Eretz HaKodesh’s patrons are scared because their hypocrisy is being revealed,” said Hess, who was elected to his role as WZO vice chairman in 2020 as a representative of Mercaz Olami, in a written statement to eJP.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.