World Zionist Congress vote in U.S. draws largest ever number of participants   

The United States has reached an all-time high in voter turnout for the 2025 World Zionist Congress (WZC) election, with more than 211,000 American Jews casting their ballots by early Sunday morning. The number marks the largest participation ever recorded in a U.S. WZC race. This was confirmed by an internal email obtained by The Jerusalem Post.

As of 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, May 4, 224,348 voters had registered and 211,338 had already voted, surpassing the previous record of 210,957 set in 1987, when voting was conducted entirely via paper ballots. With just over 13,000 ballots left to be cast before the midnight deadline, and hundreds of mail-in ballots still pending, final turnout figures are expected to rise even higher.

According to the internal data, 15,299 votes were submitted online since Friday morning alone.

The election, which determines 152 U.S. delegates, nearly a third of the global body, will influence Zionist policy and the distribution of more than $1 billion annually through institutions including the World Zionist Organization (WZO), the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), and Keren Hayesod.

“This turnout is not just historic, it’s a message,” said American Zionist Movement (AZM) Executive Director Herbert Block. “American Jews are saying loud and clear: We’re here, we care, and we’re voting for the future of the Jewish people.”

The vote, administered by AZM, comes at a time of heightened global scrutiny of Zionism, the ongoing war in Gaza, and rising antisemitism. Voting is open to all U.S. Jewish citizens or permanent residents over 18 who affirm the Jerusalem Program, Zionism’s ideological platform. Voters must not participate in Israeli Knesset elections.

A record 22 slates are running in this year’s contest, reflecting the broad ideological spectrum of American Jewry, from progressives and environmentalists to ultra-Orthodox groups and those rejecting a two-state solution.

The 39th World Zionist Congress is set to convene in Jerusalem from October 28–30, 2025, continuing the legacy of Theodor Herzl’s original congress in 1897.

With over 2,900 candidates from 43 U.S. states and territories, many see this election as a potential turning point for the future of Zionist institutions, and the evolving relationship between Israel and the Diaspora.