Divided Australian community swings right in World Zionist Congress elections

The results of the first direct elections ever held in Australia for Zionist delegates show the community has swung to the right but remains deeply divided.

Conservatives scraped in ahead of progressives, with Mizrachi, Eretz Hakadosh and Likud combining to elect seven delegates, while progressive slates ARZA-Masorti and Hatikvah Australia elected six.  

At the last World Zionist Congress in 2020, Australia was represented by five conservative delegates (four Mizrachi, one Likud) and eight progressive delegates (four ARZA, two Masorti and two from Meretz and Ameinu, now united as Hatikvah Australia). Eretz Hakodesh, a new Haredi slate, was not represented at the time.

The election decides Australia's representation at October's 39th World Zionist Congress (WZC).

Sometimes referred to as the "Parliament of the Jewish People", the Congress is a gathering of Diaspora Jews which sets policies for the international Zionist movement and, importantly, allocates funds raised in the Diaspora.

In the past, the number of Australian delegates from each faction has been set through consensus but this year, with a new entry in the form of ultra-Orthodox Eretz Hakodesh, no consensus was reached. The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) facilitated direct elections and voting was open to all Australian Jews, provided they endorse the Jerusalem Program, the ideological platform of the Zionist movement.