Tens of thousands of Israelis abroad fly home to vote on October 27

Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are preparing to return to Israel at their own expense to vote in the Knesset elections scheduled for October 27, as Israeli law allows only diplomats and official envoys to vote from abroad.

Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad, many of them in the United States, are preparing to travel to Israel at their own expense to vote in the Knesset elections scheduled for October 27, amid a close contest between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s supporting camp and the camp opposing him.

Israeli law does not allow absentee or postal voting, and voting at embassies is limited to diplomats and official envoys. This means citizens living abroad can vote only if they are inside Israel on election day. Estimates indicate that between 700,000 and 1 million Israeli citizens live outside the country.

Israeli Knesset election ballots inside a distribution box

The “Fly & Vote” initiative, run by the AID coalition, a U.S.-based nonprofit that describes itself as nonpartisan, says about 53,000 Israelis are preparing to travel before election day. Organizers estimate that the votes of about 50,000 voters could be equivalent to approximately two seats in the 120-member Knesset.

The Likud party challenged the initiative before the Central Elections Committee, arguing that it provided voters with logistical benefits managed by a foreign entity. The case ended in a settlement brokered by the committee’s chairman, Judge Noam Solberg. Under the settlement, Likud withdrew its petition in exchange for the coalition’s commitment not to subsidize ticket prices or organize flights beyond the six flights announced for election day, in addition to paying 10,000 shekels toward Likud’s legal expenses.

All the Israelis living abroad interviewed by i24 said they intended to vote for opposition parties seeking to remove Netanyahu, while political commentator Yaron Deckel believes that one seat or one and a half seats could be critically important as the two blocs approach the majority threshold.

Tens of thousands of Israelis abroad fly home to vote on October 27