These Israelis want to fly home to vote. Netanyahu is trying to stop them

Israeli Voters Abroad Turn Flights Home Into an Election Flashpoint

Earthguardiansonline.com – As Israel approaches its October 27 election, a dispute over air travel is becoming part of the campaign itself. Thousands of Israeli citizens living overseas are arranging trips back to Israel to cast their ballots, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party is seeking to halt assistance offered to some of those travelers.

The clash reflects the unusually high stakes of an election in which neither Netanyahu’s right-wing and ultra-Orthodox bloc nor the divided opposition is currently projected to secure the 61 parliamentary seats needed to form a governing coalition. In such a close contest, participation by citizens living abroad could prove significant.

Why Israelis Abroad Must Travel to Vote

Israel does not generally provide absentee ballots for citizens living overseas. Unlike many Western democracies, it does not allow most voters abroad to submit ballots by mail or vote remotely. Diplomats and official state representatives are exceptions, but ordinary Israelis residing outside the country must return in person if they want to participate.

That requirement affects a substantial population. Israelis abroad can account for as much as 10% of the country’s population at a given time, making airfare, passport status and travel arrangements practical barriers to voting for many people.

For Adi Ayash, an Israeli digital content creator based in Thailand, making the journey is a matter of civic responsibility.

“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 simply because travel is costly or inconvenient would be difficult to justify.

“Not to exercise my democratic right because of flight costs or convenience feels to me like extreme hypocrisy.”

Likud Challenges “Fly & Vote” Initiative

On Wednesday, Likud submitted a petition to Israel’s Central Elections Committee asking it to block “Fly & Vote,” an initiative that helps Israeli expatriates identify routes and organize travel home for election day.

Likud argues that the project is an unlawful foreign-funded operation and says it could damage the integrity of the electoral process. The party maintains that access to prioritized flights and group travel discounts may constitute prohibited benefits under Israeli election law, even when travelers purchase their own tickets.

The initiative was created by the America-Israel Democracy AID Coalition, a US-based nonprofit established in 2023. The organization says it works to strengthen democratic institutions in Israel and does not directly fund participants’ flights. Instead, it uses technology to locate lower-cost commercial itineraries, unconventional routes and possible group rates.

Its assistance can also include practical guidance for passport renewals, voter eligibility questions and travel coordination. If commercial flight options are insufficient and demand is high enough, the group says it may help organize charter flights.

More than 35,000 Israelis have registered through the initiative, the group says. Internal surveys indicate that over 50,000 people may intend to travel to Israel to vote.

A Nonpartisan Claim Meets Political Suspicion

Batell Blaish Sultanik, a co-founder of “Fly & Vote,” describes the effort as a broad civic movement rather than a campaign operation. She has compared the planned return of voters with the surge of Israelis who came back to enlist following the October 7, 2023 attack.

“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 ask participants how they intend to vote and does not provide money or benefits to influence their choice.

“We do not ask or check who they are voting for behind the ballot box. It’s about the right to vote.”

Likud rejects that characterization. Its petition alleges that the coalition was formed to direct US donations toward Israeli protest organizations and claims it has ties to the opposition Democrats party. Both the coalition and the party deny such a connection.

The petition also cites another coalition project, “FLY AND AID,” which provides $250 gift cards to people volunteering in Israel. Likud argues that the broader network is political in nature and intended to affect the election.

An Election Shaped by Recent Upheaval

The upcoming vote will be Israel’s first national election after four turbulent years under Netanyahu’s coalition government. That period included mass demonstrations by liberal Israelis against a proposed judicial overhaul, followed by the October 7 attack and a three-year, multi-front war.

The result has been a political environment marked by deep divisions over security, governance, the role of the judiciary and the direction of the country. The question of overseas voters has therefore taken on added importance: it is not only about airline logistics, but also about who can overcome the cost and complexity of returning to cast a ballot.

For some participants, the legal challenge has intensified their determination to travel. Josh Drill, who plans to fly from New York with a “Fly & Vote” group, said efforts to stop the initiative have had the opposite effect.

“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 Central Elections Committee’s decision will depend on the evidence presented over the nature of the travel support and whether it crosses legal limits on election-related benefits. Whatever the ruling, the dispute has underscored a central feature of Israeli democracy: for citizens abroad, voting often requires more than registering an opinion. It requires finding a way home.