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World Zionist Congress election watchdog orders Mercaz USA apologize for ally’s poster campaign against Haredi slate
Election committee also censures World Zionist Organization Vice Chair Yizhar Hess for signs declaring Zionism to be ‘idolatry’ as part of bid to drive wedge between Haredi public and Zionist Hardi representatives

Courtesy/WZO
World Zionist Organization Vice Chair Yizhar Hess.
The body tasked with overseeing the recent World Zionist Congress elections ruled on Friday that the Conservative movement’s Zionist arm, Mercaz USA, must issue a public apology to the Eretz HaKodesh slate over a controversial poster campaign led by Mercaz USA’s ally and promoter, World Zionist Organization Vice Chair Yizhar Hess. The U.S. Area Election Committee also issued a public censure of Hess for the posters, which quoted a prominent anti-Zionist rabbi declaring support for Zionism and its institutions to be “idolatry,” which were aimed at driving a wedge between the Haredi public and Haredi representatives to the WZO.
The AEC determined that even though Hess is not a member of Mercaz USA, the Conservative slate was still responsible for his actions as he served as its agent during the elections, which concluded earlier this month.
“There is no question that Hess’s admitted election-related conduct through which he sought to vilify [Eretz HaKodesh] and stop Haredi voters from supporting the EHK slate violated our election rules, and was improper,” said the decision by AEC chairs, Abraham Gafni and David J. Butler. “We find that Mercaz USA is answerable for Hess’s offenses relating to the election.”
The posters, written in the style of traditional Haredi announcements known as pashkevilim, quoted Haredi Rabbi Dov Lando’s opposition to Zionism and Zionist institutions, and called for Haredi political figures — Moshe Gafni (no direct relation to the AEC chair) and Shmuel Litov — to abide by his rulings. Litov is the CEO of the municipality of Bnei Brak and is the deputy chairman of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund on behalf of the Eretz HaKodesh party, and Gafni is a member of the United Torah Judaism party in the Knesset.
“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,” the posters said. “[Moshe] Gafni and [Shmuel] Litov, don’t disregard the words of [Rabbi Lando]!”
In April, Haredi publication Kikar HaShabbat uncovered a receipt for the posters, as well as a number of WhatsApp messages and other evidence tying the poster campaign to Hess. A senior WZO official confirmed Hess’ involvement to eJewishPhilanthropy last week, but stated that Hess’ actions were not intended to impact the U.S. elections, though the posters did explicitly say that people should not vote in them.
Soon after Hess’ involvement was revealed last month, Eretz HaKodesh filed a complaint with the Area Election Committee showing that, in addition to the posters that were put up in Israel, Hess at least inquired about distributing them in Haredi areas of the United States as well. It is not clear if this went ahead. There were similar campaigns and efforts by anti-Zionist Haredi figures undertaken in the United States as well.
Rabbi Pesach Lerner, chairman of Eretz HaKodesh, said that he believed that Hess was involved with some of these efforts as well.
“We don’t know the extent of his effect and harm,” Lerner said. “Because of the tumult, people were afraid to vote, people were afraid to speak up. We lost thousands of potential votes, maybe tens of thousands.”
In the complaint, Eretz HaKodesh demanded that Mercaz USA be barred from cooperating with the international branch, Mercaz Olami; that it be prohibited from working with Hess; that it issue a public apology; and that the AEC impose “sanctions on Mercaz USA at the discretion of the Chair.”
In response to the complaint, Mercaz USA did not deny Hess’ actions but maintained that the AEC was the wrong venue for the matter. “We believe that the complaint made to the U.S. Area Elections Committee does not involve any actual violation of any election rules and is an inappropriate challenge to principles of freedom of speech that apply to political activity,” Sarrae Crane, the executive director of Mercaz USA, wrote in an email to the AEC.
Crane added that Eretz HaKodesh’s demands were “not worthy of serious consideration.”
The AEC ruled that it did have the authority to adjudicate on the matter and that Hess’ actions did amount to a violation of election rules, though the judges did not specify which.
“Hess literally orchestrated each step of an attack on EHK in Israel and in the United States in a cynical and calculated effort to diminish voter support for EHK and gain support for Mercaz USA in the election,” Gafni and Butler wrote. “Both Hess and Mercaz USA need to answer for the offensive activity of Hess and those working with him.”
Though Hess is a member of Mercaz Olami, the AEC decision argued that because he traveled to the United States to campaign for Mercaz USA, making use of campaign funds, he acted as an “agent of Mercaz USA” throughout the election process.
“He travelled extensively within the United States to campaign actively for the Mercaz USA slate and served as the conduit for the expenditure of significant campaign funds in support of his scheme to besmirch EHK and support Mercaz USA,” wrote Gafni and Butler.
Mercaz USA was ordered to issue a public apology within 10 days, and the judges recommended that Hess and Mercaz Olami do the same.
Hess and Mercaz USA did not respond to requests for comment.