Israeli Expats Mobilize to Return for Vote as Likud Challenges Travel Initiative
Qwenews.com – Israel’s October 27 election is drawing an unusually visible campaign far beyond its borders, with thousands of citizens living overseas preparing to fly back to cast ballots in a race that could be decided by only a handful of parliamentary seats.
Because most Israelis abroad cannot vote remotely, returning in person is the only option for ordinary citizens who want to participate. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has moved to challenge an initiative designed to make that journey easier, arguing that its travel assistance could improperly affect the election.
On Wednesday, Likud petitioned Israel’s Central Elections Committee to halt “Fly & Vote,” a grassroots effort that helps expatriate Israelis identify affordable ways to return home for election day. The party describes the operation as illegally supported from abroad and says it could undermine the fairness of the vote.
Voting From Abroad Requires a Flight Home
Israel differs from many Western democracies by largely prohibiting absentee ballots for citizens overseas. Diplomats and official state representatives are permitted to vote outside Israel, but most other Israelis must physically return to the country or give up their chance to vote.
That rule gives airfare, passport logistics and available flights an outsized political importance. Israelis living abroad can account for as much as 10% of the population at a given time, making their participation potentially significant in a closely contested election.
Adi Ayash, an Israeli digital content creator based in Thailand, said returning was an obligation rather than a convenience.
“As someone who is very engaged and very worried by the reality of the (current) Israeli leadership, I feel that it is my duty,”
Ayash said choosing not to vote because of ticket prices or travel difficulty would feel inconsistent with his democratic values.
A High-Stakes Election After Four Turbulent Years
The coming vote will be Israel’s first national election after four eventful years under Netanyahu’s right-wing and ultra-Orthodox governing coalition. That period included major demonstrations by liberal Israelis against a proposed judicial overhaul, the October 7, 2023 attack, and a subsequent three-year war across multiple fronts.
Polling has indicated that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor a divided opposition is on course to secure the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset. In such an environment, voters returning from abroad could influence which side is able to form Israel’s next government.
Likud’s concern is that expatriate turnout could strengthen opposition parties. The party has focused its legal challenge on “Fly & Vote,” which was created by the America-Israel Democracy AID Coalition, a US nonprofit established in 2023. The organization says its purpose is to reinforce Israel’s democratic foundations.
The coalition says it does not purchase tickets for voters. Instead, it uses technology to identify commercial flights, group fares and unconventional lower-cost routes. It also provides practical support, including information on passport renewals and voting eligibility. Charter flights may be organized if enough people seek them or if standard commercial routes prove inadequate.
More than 35,000 Israelis have registered through the project, the organization says, while its internal surveys indicate that more than 50,000 people plan to travel home to vote.
Batell Blaish Sultanik, a co-founder of “Fly & Vote,” described the effort as a broad civic response involving Israelis around the world. She compared the momentum to the return of citizens who came back to enlist after October 7.
“Something bigger is happening here. There is an international movement from all over the world. It’s a national event,”
Sultanik said the organization does not endorse candidates or monitor participants’ voting preferences.
“We do not ask or check who they are voting for behind the ballot box,”
She said the effort is centered on ensuring that eligible Israelis can exercise their right to vote.
Likud Alleges Improper Political Support
Likud rejects the claim that the project is politically neutral. Its petition argues that the America-Israel Democracy AID Coalition was created to direct American donations toward Israeli protest movements and alleges a connection to the opposition Democrats party. Both the coalition and the party deny that they are affiliated.
The petition contends that early access to flights and group discounts could constitute prohibited benefits under Israeli election law, even when participants pay their own travel costs. Likud characterizes such assistance as a form of election bribery.
It also cites another coalition program, “FLY AND AID,” which provides $250 gift cards to people volunteering in Israel. Likud argues that the wider set of activities shows the group is seeking to exert political influence over the electoral process.
“This is a distinctly political body attempting to influence the election system,”
The legal dispute will turn on the evidence presented to the Central Elections Committee and on how it interprets the difference between voter-access assistance and an improper campaign benefit.
Challenge May Encourage More Travelers
For some voters, the petition has had the opposite of its intended effect. Josh Drill, who plans to travel from New York with a “Fly & Vote” group, said efforts to prevent overseas Israelis from participating have reinforced his decision to make the trip.
“Every attempt to obstruct our democratic right to vote only strengthens our determination to get on a plane, cast our ballot, and take part in this election to help shape the future of Israel.”
The controversy highlights a structural feature of Israeli elections: political participation by citizens abroad depends not only on their willingness to vote, but also on their ability to arrange an international journey within a narrow election timetable. With the balance of power uncertain, the fight over those flights has become part of the election itself.
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