Below, please find some very important information from the Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. He, along with all those of us who serve as leaders of the Conservative Movement, are urging members of our denominational family to vote in the World Zionist Elections and support slate number six, Mercaz. This is a critical time for the state of Israel and our voices need to be heard in order to help our beloved homeland continue to serve as a beacon of hope, optimism and democracy. Please join the effort!
In gratitude,
Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose
Dear JTS Community, I write to call your attention to a matter that is of urgent and direct importance to our Masorti colleagues in Israel and is therefore crucial to the future of Conservative Judaism and to JTS. Voting in the World Zionist Congress Elections began earlier this week, and the success of the Conservative/Masorti slate put forward by MERCAZ, of which I am privileged to be a leader, will determine the distribution of funds to the Masorti movement and its programs.
We often express unhappiness with the fact that Israeli government funding flows to Orthodox institutions approved by the Chief Rabbinate while Conservative and Reform institutions must fend for themselves. Here is our chance to do something about the funding for our movement in Israel. Even a few thousand more votes than the MERCAZ slate garnered five years ago will ensure a louder voice for pluralism and significantly more funding for Masorti programs.
Please take the time to vote! Please do it today, lest putting it off means forgetting. It should require only about four minutes of your time to register, pay the nominal processing fee of $7.50 or $5 for those under 25 (which supports the electoral process), and then vote.
