Fraud allegations rock World Zionist Congress vote

Halfway through the World Zionist Congress elections, a specter of fraud has emerged, threatening the integrity of a process meant to embody Jewish democratic values. Nearly 2,000 suspect votes, cast with what appear to be randomly generated email addresses and prepaid credit cards, have prompted the Area Election Committee (AEC) to launch an investigation.

The discovery, detailed in an internal letter obtained by eJewishPhilanthropy, reveals a “disturbing pattern of orchestrated voting irregularities” benefiting just two of the 21 competing slates. These votes, comprising almost 2% of the total cast so far, were flagged for their uncanny uniformity: suspicious emails, non-personalized payment methods like prepaid cards, repeated home addresses tied to yeshivas, and missing phone numbers.

The AEC, chaired by retired Judge Abraham Gafni and David J. Butler, stopped short of naming the implicated slates, calling them only “subject slates” but gave them until a deadline to explain themselves.

“We are not accusing any slate of wrongdoing,” the AEC wrote. “But these facts demand inquiry.” The committee’s tone is measured yet firm, reflecting the gravity of a scheme that, at $5 per vote, would have cost at least $10,000 to execute. It might sound like a lot of money, but compared to what's at stake, it's a drop in the ocean.

Voting in the World Zionist Congress requires a name, address, email, and a modest fee, safeguards meant to ensure authenticity. Yet the AEC uncovered patterns that defy innocence: half the flagged registrations looped back to 50 email variants, often appended with numbers, while 430 traced to a single K-8 yeshiva in Brooklyn. Six addresses, spanning New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, overlapped suspiciously, and the prepaid cards, all from TransPecos Bank and Pathward, suggested a coordinated financial effort.

“This isn’t mischief by overzealous supporters,” the AEC chairs asserted. “It’s a carefully orchestrated, costly scheme to manufacture votes and defraud the process.”

The timing stings. This year’s turnout, already surpassing the 120,000 votes of 2020, promised a historic engagement, until now. Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, declined to comment mid-investigation but affirmed AZM’s commitment to “a fair and transparent election,” vowing vigilance against fraud.

This isn’t the first ripple. Three weeks ago, the Am Yisrael Chai slate faced accusations of improper voter incentives, while last week, Haaretz reported an Aish Ha’am candidate allegedly reimbursed voters’ $5 fees, both breaches of election rules. Now, this larger anomaly casts a shadow over a process already strained by competing visions.

The AEC’s probe isn’t an indictment at this stage, but depending on the AEC's decision, there could be serious ramifications.

eJewishPhilanthropy contributed to this article.