MERCAZ Newsletter - Summer 2002
From My Vantage Point - Evelyn Seelig, President

It seems like everywhere I turn regarding Israel and Zionism, there are glasses half-empty and half-full. On the one hand, I was thrilled when on April 15th, I, along with 100,000-150,000 others, assembled in front of the Capitol Building in the largest demonstration in support of the State of Israel ever held in the United States. It was a most impressive sight to look out at this vast crowd which was there to show the world where American Jewry stood with respect to Israel.

The remarkable thing about this demonstration is that it took exactly seven days to organize. Just one week before, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations had met, and when we decided to hold this demonstration, there was a great deal of trepidation about our ability to mobilize our community so quickly. Yet, within a few days, all trains to Washington were fully booked, all available buses were chartered. In fact, R.F.K. Stadium, which was being used for parking, had to turn vehicles away for lack of room! The massive attendance showed the depth of American Jewry's commitment to Israel and to her and America's fight against terrorism.

However, the very next day, the half-empty glass appeared as the results of the World Zionist Congress election were announced. As I said earlier, somewhere between 100,000-150,000 people attended the rally, an act that required an individual to invest both time and money to accomplish. In contrast, to participate in the World Zionist Congress election, five minutes and $4 were all that was required; yet, only 112,000 American Jews registered and only 88,000 voted.

I find this disparity staggering. While I am happy that MERCAZ USA maintained its position as the second strongest organization in the American Zionist Movement, the low turnout raises serious questions. Does it mean that American Jews no longer believe in Zionism? Has Zionism become irrelevant? A look at the elections would seem to indicate “yes”, but then the sight of so many at the rally would seem to say, “maybe not”.

Perhaps, the better question is how do we redefine Zionism in the 21st century so that more American Jews who turned out in Washington and other similar rallies throughout the United States are willing to come to the realization that they indeed are Zionists! Helping reorient Zionism for the new century should be the main goal of MERCAZ USA in the coming months, and I appeal to each and every one of you to play a role in determining our future agenda.

In closing, I would like to pay tribute to our wonderful Zionist election team, headed by Dr. Saul Shapiro. We started working on this campaign more than two years ago and worked steadily to build a structure based on more than 600 synagogue Israel Affairs liaisons and more than 20 regional coordinators to get out the vote. We had extraordinary help from all branches of the Conservative Movement and thank everyone involved. I sincerely hope that MERCAZ will be able to continue to serve as the Zionist voice of the Conservative Movement with strength and courage.