Every five years, the Jewish world holds elections for the World Zionist Congress. These elections are an opportunity for the entire Jewish people to be represented as we recommit to our Zionist roots, our communal values and mutual bonds as Am Yisrael. Unfortunately, this year, the elections in the United States were marked by serious electoral fraud. While the cheaters have been caught, their efforts to avoid meaningful consequences tear at our communal bonds, put the entire World Zionist Congress in jeopardy and undermine future elections. 

From ancient times, the Jewish people have lived by a system of justice that emphasizes honesty and integrity, aiming to restore what was broken and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions and deter offenders. The Torah lays out a clear precedent for justice in cases of stealing and cheating. Exodus 22:4 decrees that theft does not simply involve restitution, but also requires a penalty commensurate with the burden of the crime and the value of the stolen property. The laws in place to deal with these instances are both a form of compensation for the victim and a deterrent against future theft. 

Hagai Agmon-Snir/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0

The Jewish National Institutions House. in Jerusalem on May 6, 2023.

The American elections for the World Zionist Congress earlier this year were disrupted by a widespread cheating scheme. Supporters of several right-wing slates committed fraud, resulting in over 17,500 ill-gotten votes. The election body within the American Zionist Movement took appropriate action, cancelling those votes and imposing penalties as a just recourse. However, the perpetrators appealed this decision to the American Zionist Tribunal which, in a baffling miscarriage of justice, struck down the penalties. Now, several slates that ran fair campaigns, including Vote Reform, representing the Reform movement, and MERCAZ USA, the voice of the Conservative/Masorti movement, are in the process of appealing this decision before the Zionist Supreme Court, which holds the final say on the matter.

The outcome is crucial, because the World Zionist Congress allocates over $1 billion annually to programs and initiatives to support global Jewry, including here in the United States. Any effort to carry an unearned influence over this budget should be called out for what it is: fraud. 

The American Zionist Movement imposed stiff measures to preserve election integrity, and authorities in Israel shouldn’t overturn them. By upholding the punishment imposed by the presiding authorities over the American elections, the court will send a clear message: all who participate in the WZO elections are required, both on paper and in practice, to conduct their campaigns with the highest levels of ethics and accountability. 

The accountability plan initially instituted was proportionate and just: slates lost voting mandates based on how widespread the deception was on their behalf compared to their total votes, and those slates that cooperated with the independent investigation received less harsh monetary penalties than those who did not. 

Amid rising antisemitism and outside forces trying to divide us, this is a critical moment for the Zionist movement to enforce the penalties against those responsible for this fraud. It’s not enough to just say, “If we catch you cheating, we’ll nullify your votes.” These penalties should not only reconcile the injustice but also deter any future cheating. As a community, it’s our responsibility to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. Failing to do so would signal that vote manipulation and fraud will be tolerated, an outcome that is anathema to our core Jewish values. 

A failure to act would risk the collapse of trust and engagement in Zionist institutions. Most slates invested ample time, energy and resources into good-faith outreach and mobilizing their communities. We worked within the rules, spent our resources ethically and earned our votes honestly. Allowing fraudulent votes to stand — or allowing the perpetrators to escape meaningful punishment — would be a slap in the face to those who followed the rules and a betrayal of the democratic and Jewish principles upon which these institutions are built. The immense effort of these slates, including our communities, should not be undermined by a system failing to penalize clear fraud cases. This precedent would put slates that participate fairly at a disadvantage for refusing to compromise their values. 

We must choose honesty over deception, integrity over expediency and justice over impunity. The integrity of our Zionist institutions, and the trust that so many have placed in them, depends on it. 

This is not merely a political dispute, but a moral and religious one. The Torah’s lessons on justice and accountability are not ancient relics. They are living principles that should guide our actions today. The Zionist Supreme Court should listen to the Torah’s timeless wisdom and act decisively to restore faith in our system. Meanwhile, the Reform and Conservative movements will continue to use our growing influence to root out corruption and fight for the highest standards of transparency and fairness. Only by doing so can we ensure that the World Zionist Congress remains a truly representative and respected body for all of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal is the CEO of the Rabbinical Assembly and of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

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