Elections for the 39th Session of the World Zionist Congress Are Currently Taking Place in the U.S.
This is a highly significant body, connected to the national institutions — the Histadrut, KKL (Jewish National Fund), Keren Hayesod, and others — and it influences budgets totaling billions of dollars.
The Congress includes hundreds of delegates, about two hundred of whom are representatives from Israel, elected based on party affiliation according to representation in the Knesset, along with several hundred more from around the world.
Some delegates are elected by various organizations represented in the Congress, such as WIZO, Hadassah, ORT, and others.
Others are directly elected by registered voters (in the U.S., registration requires a $5 fee).
The Haredi parties are also represented in the Congress. Some of the party lists are clearly identifiable by name (such as Shas), while others require a bit more effort to recognize — for example, “Eretz HaKodesh,” which broadly corresponds to or is a twin of “Degel HaTorah.”
The Congress’s constitution was amended in 2023, establishing that 40% of each party’s representatives must be women. The regulation can be found here:
https://www.wzo.org.il/page/extraordinary-congress/adopted-resolutions
Researchers at the Jewish People Policy Institute conducted a review of the candidate lists for the elections in the U.S., as they appeared on the official website of the World Zionist Congress.
The review included many hundreds of candidates, so the researchers also used artificial intelligence to assist in the process.
The review shows that even a Haredi party like Shas ensures appropriate female representation, not only in lists abroad but also among the representatives from Israel.
The review shows that all the lists include at least 39% women, including Shas.
“Eretz HaKodesh,” which is somewhat similar to United Torah Judaism, actually leads the list with 55% women on its slate.
(Interestingly, the “Eretz HaKodesh” website does not mention either the list or the women.)
And what about the representatives from Israel?
The review shows that even a Haredi party like Shas ensures appropriate female representation, not only in lists abroad but also among the representatives from Israel
(United Torah Judaism does not have a list for the Congress in Israel.)
Here are the figures (for major parties) from the last election round held in Israel (38th Congress):
The full data is available here:
https://www.wzo.org.il/Upload/media/Files/zirim_kongress_3.pdf
For comparison, in the Knesset, the Haredi parties have no female representation at all.
