by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, President, Mercaz Olami and
Rabbi Hillel Skolnik, President, MERCAZ USA
The Passover seder is a unique event on the Jewish calendar. We invite family members and friends of all ages to sit together as we relate the narrative that shaped the destiny of our people. The aim is to create an “all-inclusive” gathering to foster the embrace of Jewish history, heritage, and identity.
To exclude anyone from attending the seder is a violation of the holiday’s intent. In fact, in the Haggadah, we are directed to issue an invitation: “Kol dichfin yeitei v’yeichol …” “Let ALL who are hungry” — to be a part of Am Yisrael’s shared sacred story — “come and partake of the seder.”
At the seder, we welcome maximum participation of every type of Jew (as represented by the ritual’s Four Sons) — whether wise, simple, poorly intended, or unable to articulate.
The spirit of inclusiveness we cultivate at the seder mirrors the goal of the World Zionist Organization and the World Zionist Congress elections it convenes every five years.
As the voting nears, the WZO calls on the world’s Jews to participate in the election, casting votes for a diverse lineup of pro-Israel parties (britot) with the aim of creating an “all-inclusive” Zionist coalition.
The election results determine which britot hold enhanced representation at decision-making bodies of national institutions (the WZO, Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeYisrael, Keren Hayesod) inside Israel and throughout the Diaspora.
Unfortunately, at the conclusion of the 2020 elections, decades of global Zionist inclusiveness was imperiled. Sensing the possibility of a first-ever right-wing majority in the WZC, certain groups attempted to exclude the Left, Center, and Center-Right from the Zionist body, to be deprived of representation, input, and funding.
These groups attempted — in marked contrast to the WZC’s aim to embody Jewish unity — to divide world Jewry into “good Jews” (those who agree with their stances) and “bad Jews” (those who dare to disagree).
These forces are at it again.
Their plan is to redefine Zionism and shrink the number of Jews who identify as Zionist; if carried out this is a blueprint for weakening the Zionist movement and United States-Israel relations and ultimately undermining the existence of the Jewish state.
These groups’ goal is to strengthen those “pro-Israel” Jews who are distanced from the mainstream of American life.
They purposely ignore the simple truth that broad-based American-Jewish support for Medinat Yisrael is crucial for the success of UJA/Federation, AIPAC, JNF, Israel Bonds, aliyah, and so forth.
We were able to quash this effort five years ago, but we need your help to make sure it will not succeed this year!
Partisan discrimination and exclusion would put the entire global Zionist movement at risk, imperiling mainstream Zionist organizations like AIPAC, Israel Bonds, JNF, Nefesh B’Nefesh, and others.
This could happen precisely when Israel is at its greatest peril and so in greatest need for the maximum number of supporters from across the spectrum of Jewish life.
We are immensely proud that MERCAZ wants all types of Jewish supporters of Israel to be welcomed into a shared commitment to Am Yisrael.
MERCAZ seeks “unity,” even without “uniformity.” Our intent is to sustain a World Zionist Organization that gives voice to as many Jewish “instruments” as possible.
MERCAZ wants every possible supporter to identify with the Zionist cause, especially during this period of unique peril, through representation in the national institutions.
In contrast to those who seek to exclude us, MERCAZ aims to include and welcome all Zionists to the “table”; seated together, we can debate the issues at hand.
It is in this inclusive spirit of the Passover seder that we urge Conservative Jews to vote for MERCAZ.
We are facing an existential crisis. Let’s make certain that every Zionist organization — along with other britot representing the Center, Left, and Center-Right — is included in the WZO, whether or not we agree on certain policies.
Let’s vote and then come together as Am Yisrael at the Congress, debating issues as diverse parts of the Jewish collective.
In the words of the WZO’s “Jerusalem Program,” the national institutions must remain “marked by mutual respect for the multi-faceted Jewish people.” The WZO must maintain its commitment to “represent the entire political and religious spectrum of the Zionist movement.”
We must remain unified in our opposition to antisemitism, anti-Zionism, assimilation, Jewish illiteracy, and indifference to our Jewish destiny.
Urge your preferred brit to insist upon sustaining an inclusive world Zionism!
Solomon Schechter wrote:
“Zionism may appear to one as the rebirth of national Jewish consciousness, to another as religious revival, while to a third it may present itself as a path leading to the goal of Jewish culture, and to the fourth it may take the form of the last and only solution to the Jewish problem [antisemitism]…. On one point however, they all agree;…the purpose of forming a home for at least a portion of the Jews, who would lead there an independent Jewish life.”
Chag kasher v’sameach,
Hillel and Alan
