The end of zionism?

According to Forward, zionist activism is on the wane in America. the World Zionist Congress is trying to organise worldwide elections for any Jew over the age of 18. In America voter registration is down from 150,000 in 1998 to 70,000 for this latest contest.

The world's only global Jewish elections are approaching fast, but from the early tallies it appears that the word has not spread far.

Voter registration for the World Zionist Congress — open to any Jew over 18 — closes February 15 in America. Thus far, fewer than 70,000 Americans have registered, down from 120,000 registrants in the 2002 election and 150,000 registrants in 1998. American voters will choose 30% of the 700-odd delegates to the WZC, to be held in Jerusalem in June; the remaining delegates will be chosen by Israelis and by other Diaspora communities.

Communities? I suspect that means "community organisations".

This report follows on from reports that the Israeli Jewish population (the only Israeli population that counts in the zionist worldview) has just recently overtaken the American Jewish population in size. It reminds me of a heckler at the recent MPAC meeting who tried to defend Israel's race laws on the grounds that Jews worldwide are choosing assimilation and that therefore Israel is necessary to maintain the "ethnic purity" of the Jewish people.