The early results are in: After more than a year of organizing, mobilizing and outreach among Reform congregations in every state, Vote Reform received 48,000 votes in the 2025 World Zionist Congress (WZC) elections, the most votes to go to a single slate. That is impressive.  

Our campaign brought together camps and congregations, clergy and lay leaders, longtime partners and first-time activists. We engaged people by speaking directly to their profound concerns and aspirations for the future of Israel. We made the case for a Judaism — and a Zionism — that is inclusive, just, inspiring and democratic. And they responded.

Tamir Elterman for the URJ

A rally in Tel Aviv, Feb. 2023.

At a time when American Jews are generally grappling with deep polarization, rising antisemitism and profound concern about the future of Israel and the Jewish people, our movement spoke clearly and loudly in support of the values that define who we are: a love of Israel and commitment to pluralism, democracy, justice and the security and well-being of the entire Jewish people. 

As the full delegate allocations and coalition negotiations unfold in the weeks ahead, we will learn more about the ways in which the 48,000 voters who put their faith in Vote Reform will see their interests reflected in the next World Zionist Congress.  

Here’s what we already know:

This is a defining moment for our movement and a perilous time for Jews around the world. Fifty-five of our siblings remain captive in Gaza, including living hostages enduring the worst conditions imaginable. We’re living through an unprecedented wave of antisemitism in our streets, on our campuses, and in our politics. In North America, we’ve seen horrifying violence against visibly Jewish institutions and individuals. We’ve seen rising tolerance for hate speech disguised as activism. We’ve seen our people targeted simply for being Jewish.

As we meet these challenges, the election engagement and outcome show that Reform Zionism is alive and well in the U.S., as in Israel. In alignment with the other liberal slates that also did well in the WZC elections, we will use our voice to advocate for pluralism, gender equity, civil rights, security and democracy in Israel and throughout the global Jewish world.  

We will leverage the power demonstrated in the election results to shape the Israel that the majority of North American Jews support: one that rejects domination by right wing messianists who aspire to annex the West Bank, resettle Gaza and weaken Israel’s democratic institutions — all while trying to snuff out expressions of non-Orthodox Jewish life in the Jewish State. For too long, those dangerous values have been ascendant within Israeli life, to the detriment of Israel’s well-being and that of the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora. The high number of WZC votes garnered by slates aligned with such views is deeply concerning, as is the fact that a handful of slates have been caught with thousands of fraudulent votes.

We call upon the committee adjudicating this major breach of Jewish and democratic ethics to not just disqualify the ill-gotten votes as they have done, but to maintain the integrity of the elections for future generations. Once sufficient evidence is provided, the AEC will need to apply appropriate sanctions beyond the removal of fraudulent votes, which could include removal of mandates. If not, there will be no deterrence for those who have demonstrated blatant disregard for the rules of the elections and a conscious decision to bypass the democratic process.

In the weeks ahead, we will convene our slate members and allies, set priorities and get to work. We’ll push for policies that reflect our values. We’ll push back against any entity who seeks to erase our voice. And we’ll continue to build coalitions in Israel and across the Diaspora that can drive real change. We will do this with honesty and transparency — the same way we ran our campaign.

There is a lot of work to do as we prepare for the upcoming World Zionist Congress this October. We will bolster the ties that bind us to one another in North America and in Israel as we join hands to shape a more secure, democratic and inspiring Jewish future for Israel and the global Jewish people.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs is the president of the Union for Reform Judaism.