It’s completely irrelevant—factually, it’s saving millions of Jews from assimilation, more than any kiruv organization in the world. Anything else is just noise. You try to square the circle by asking, “What about the Israelis who leave Israel?” Okay, what about them? They make up about 10% of Jewish Israelis overall. So, if you add the 10% who assimilate in Israel and assume that every Jew who leaves Israel assimilates, that’s about 20%. Compare that to the 70–80% assimilation rate in the diaspora

read what I wrote I addressed your point Zionism has a clear definition today: if you support the idea, you’re a Zionist—period. Anything beyond that is just wordplay. The Rebbe opposed associating Zionism with the beginning of the Geulah, and the Rebbeim viewed the movement as a secularizing force, which historically, it was. However, today, Zionism means one thing and one thing only: do you believe the Jewish people have a right to a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael? If so, not only am I a Zionist, but so are you—and probably everyone you know.

In my opinion, the Rebbe would have had the same opinion about joining these things, just like being part of the Israeli political process, and that is very simple, we are part of it, and we reap its benefits and express our right of voting, but yet, don’t take any leading effort and don’t officially in a public way align with a specific party, but rather whatever we do privately in the ballot box stays in the ballot box.

I don’t see a any difference with the WZO, being somehow worse then the Israeli government, besides for saying a nonsense Jerusalem platform, which for all intent and purposes is meaningless.

I have yet to see any source about the Rebbe’s view on this matter. I am not saying that there is not one, but i have not seen a source. It seems to me, that the issue never came up for whatever reason.

That has nothing to do with being a Zionist and as chabad we follow the rebbe not what we think you could say your pro the idea but you can’t call yourself a Zionist r”l

If it was ONLY about money, the decision would be an easy one. We are not selling our principles

But as explained in the article, and in the comments, there are decisions and votes that are made about mixed events, not allowing separate events, support for Women of the wall, mihu yehudi, stores being forced to open on shabbos, and more

The delegates can influence these decisions

Most people are unfamiliar with this process and so it’s easy to misunderstand the purpose of the Congress. The Congress has debates and votes on issues that are important to the Jewish world. The outcomes are later passed on to the Knesset and are taken very seriously as the opinions of World Jewry for them to act on. Topics like Mehu Yehudi, Shleimus Ha’aretz, Jewish Education, egalitarian prayer services at the Koisel, Shabbos observance etc. etc. The point of being involved is not to c”v be Machshir zionism but to defend and promote our values and to make a Kiddush Hashem in the process.

Please post, thank you!

Where does the article say we should vote because of “financial benefits”?
The article says “This includes policies affecting the observance of Shabbos and kashrus, standards of geirus, and the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel’s holiest sites. It also includes policies that affect Jewish education in Eretz Yisroel and across the world.”
The Eretz Hakodesh platform “promises to represent true Torah values and respect Torah standards of Shabbos, the Kosel, kashrus, conversion, marriage and divorce. Furthermore, it believes that classical Jewish values of Torah as taught for millennia should play a central role in modern Israel.”

The article makes one indirect reference to the overall budget of the WZC. It makes no suggestion that we should vote for purposes of funding. Only to positively influence “Frum/Torah” values within the WZC and wherever it has influence…

Please post where this letter can be seen.

Thank you.

The comparison to voting in the governmental elections is ludicrous, a government is like running a Kehilla and we need to see to it that the Kehilla should have their needs attended to. Besides, they don’t call themselves elections for the Zionist ideal or State, they are voting for the Knesset which is the government. But the Zionist congress? this is about the ideal of Zionism, can a Chossid participate in shaping the ideal of Zionism? This is the original sin against which our holy Rebbe’s fought against and disassociated themselves from.

And the excuse of voting to be able to determine financial benefits for Chabad is the antithesis of everything the Rebbe stood for and taught us all the years, especially when he stood up to the government on matters of Mihu Yehudi and the liberated territories, and the Rebbe was threatened that they will hold back funding, and the Rebbe clearly said that anybody who will be influenced by such threats has no connection to Lubavitch.

So frankly if there is anybody who tries to permit participation in these elections is doing it for financial reasons as articulated in this article and therefore he has no connection to Lubavitch and the Rebbe.