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

Israeli expatriates mobilize to return for a pivotal election

Healfromzero.com – Israelis living across the world are organizing trips home ahead of the October 27 election, turning airline bookings and travel logistics into an unusually visible part of an intensely close political contest.

For citizens who live outside Israel, casting a ballot generally requires a physical return to the country. Israel does not offer absentee voting to ordinary citizens abroad, unlike many Western democracies. Voting from overseas is reserved for diplomats and certain official representatives, leaving other expatriates to choose between the cost and disruption of travel or sitting out the election entirely.

That rule has placed particular attention on “Fly & Vote,” an initiative designed to help Israelis abroad find practical routes back to Israel on election day. The project says more than 35,000 people have registered and that its internal surveys indicate that over 50,000 Israelis may plan to travel home to vote.

With Israel’s political blocs struggling to reach the 61 seats required to form a governing majority, even a comparatively small shift in turnout could matter. The contest comes after four turbulent years under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and ultra-Orthodox coalition, a period marked by mass demonstrations over proposed judicial changes, the October 7, 2023 attack, and a three-year conflict fought on multiple fronts.

Likud challenges the travel initiative

Netanyahu’s Likud party has asked Israel’s Central Elections Committee to stop Fly & Vote from operating. Its petition argues that the program is an unlawful foreign-funded effort and says it could damage the integrity of the election.

Likud maintains that the America-Israel Democracy AID Coalition, the US-based nonprofit behind the campaign, was created to direct American donations toward Israeli protest groups. The party also alleges a connection between the coalition and the opposition Democrats party. Both the organization and the party reject that claim.

The dispute centers in part on the nature of the assistance offered. Fly & Vote says it does not pay travelers for tickets. Instead, it uses technology to identify lower-cost commercial itineraries, unconventional flight options and possible group rates. It also provides practical help, including guidance on passport renewals and voting eligibility, and says charter flights could be arranged if commercial capacity proves insufficient.

Likud argues that preferred access to flights and reduced group fares may amount to prohibited benefits under Israeli election law, even when participants finance their own travel. The petition also references a separate coalition initiative, “FLY AND AID,” which provides $250 gift cards to people volunteering in Israel.

“This is a distinctly political body attempting to influence the election system,” the petition states.

The legal challenge has made the travel campaign itself part of the election debate. It also highlights a longstanding feature of Israel’s voting system: citizens abroad retain the right to vote, but most must bear the burden of returning in person to exercise it. At any given time, ordinary Israelis living overseas may represent as much as 10% of the population.

A nonpartisan effort, organizers say

America-Israel Democracy AID Coalition was founded in 2023 and describes its purpose as strengthening Israel’s democratic foundations. Its Fly & Vote organizers say the program is not intended to favor any party or candidate, and that it does not seek to learn how travelers plan to vote.

“Something bigger is happening here. There is an international movement from all over the world. It’s a national event,” said Batell Blaish Sultanik, a co-founder of Fly & Vote.

Sultanik compared the current mobilization to the return of Israelis who came back to enlist following October 7.

“Israelis understand their vote is important,” Sultanik added.

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

For many individual participants, the decision to travel is framed as a civic obligation rather than a matter of political organization. Adi Ayash, an Israeli digital content creator living in Thailand, said returning to vote was never in doubt.

“As someone who is very engaged and very worried by the reality of the (current) Israeli leadership, I feel that it is my duty,” he said.

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

His comments reflect a practical dilemma faced by Israelis spread across North America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere. International travel can mean substantial expense, time away from work and family obligations, along with the uncertainty of finding available flights during a high-demand period. Yet the absence of a mail-in ballot option makes that travel the only route to participation for most of them.

Turnout could shape a fragmented contest

The election is unfolding with both Netanyahu’s coalition and a divided opposition below the threshold needed to govern alone. That has heightened the perceived value of every pool of potential voters, including citizens who live overseas and may be less tied to day-to-day political networks inside Israel.

Likud’s petition reflects concern that returning expatriates could disproportionately aid opposition parties. Organizers reject the premise that their work is partisan, but the stakes of the argument extend beyond one travel initiative. The committee’s decision may help define where logistical support ends and impermissible electoral influence begins.

Josh Drill, who plans to fly from New York with a Fly & Vote group, said the attempt to stop the initiative has strengthened his commitment to make the journey.

“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,” Drill said.

For now, the campaign has transformed a basic administrative reality of Israeli elections into a political flashpoint. As October 27 approaches, the question is not only how Israelis inside the country will divide their votes, but also how many citizens abroad will manage to make it home in time to cast one.