Fresh fraud charges mar final week of World Zionist Congress vote

As voting in the World Zionist Congress enters its crucial last week, another case of voter fraud was uncovered, further tainting an election that will help determine how some $5 billion in funding will be spent on Jewish and Israeli causes over the next five years.

After nearly 2,000 votes were thrown out earlier this month, due to voting irregularities in the eight-week online balloting, thousands more suspicious votes are now also being investigated.

“The US Area Election Committee (AEC) for the 2025 World Zionist Congress election is continuing its investigation into voting irregularities,” the American Zionist Movement, the organization administering the election, said Friday. “It was the AEC’s own internal monitoring that initially detected these issues, and through our ongoing investigation, additional irregular votes have been identified and isolated.”

The AZM declined to release further information, including whether the suspected fraud was linked to any of the 22 slates running in the election. The organization said it remains “absolutely committed” to upholding the integrity of the election and ensuring that no improper votes are counted.

Earlier this month, the AZM found that nearly 2,000 suspicious votes were cast for the Haredi Eretz Hakodesh slate, associated with Israel’s Haredi United Torah Judaism party, and Am Yisrael Chai, an Orthodox party targeting young voters. Those votes were made from the same locations, using suspicious credit cards and unverifiable contact details, sources said.

Voting for the Zionist Congress is open through May 4 to self-identified Jews aged 18 or older in the US, who must provide their name, address and contact details, and pay a $5 registration fee via credit card. Ballots can be cast at zionistelection.org.

While the online voting platform employs sophisticated technology to prevent voter fraud, “there is also an element of an honor system needed” to ensure the integrity of the vote, AZM Executive Director Herbert Block told The Times of Israel.

Party heads have called for the AZM to respond strongly to the allegations, including disqualifying any slate found engaging in fraudulent behavior. Failure to do so would threaten the legitimacy of the entire process, they say.

The current round of elections for the 39th Zionist Congress is among the most contentious since the congress was founded 128 years ago by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland. A slew of new parties in this year’s race, including many ultra-Orthodox slates, have sparked fierce competition between parties that want control of funds that can be used for just about every interest in the Jewish world.

This year’s vote has already achieved record turnout, and the suspicious votes represent only a small fraction of the total, AZM noted.