Israeli election draws tens of thousands of citizens flying back to vote

An extremely tight race into Israel’s election Tuesday, has some citizens flying back into the country to cast their votes.

Israel doesn’t allow votes from abroad, except from those serving in the country’s diplomatic missions. As many as 80,000 Israelis living outside the country are expected to come back to vote in Tuesday’s election, according to estimates from one group helping to organize citizens living outside the country. Israel has about 7.3 million eligible voters, according to the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

“While not a large block, the 80,000 that may return home to participate could make a big difference in the final count of a very tight election,” said Yael Shomer, a professor of political science at Tel Aviv University.

In Israel’s first election since 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party, who has served as Prime Minister for 18 years over three separate periods, is facing top challenger Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who heads the Yashar party. Both would likely need backing from potential coalition partners in order to win.

Polls are extremely tight heading into Tuesday’s election. Issues like security, already a major decider for Israelis, have gotten even more contentious with the Iran war in full swing. The exemption of some ultra-Orthodox men from conscription is also causing a great divide in Israeli society, while Prime Minister Netanyahu is still working on a controversial plan that would give the governing coalition more control over the judiciary.

“All elections in Israel are energetic, but because this one will have such a meaningful impact on the future of the country it has been especially hard fought,” Shomer said. “This election is really about how we see our future, voter turnout will be very high.”

Voter turnout in 2022 was just above 70% according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee. Pollsters believe it could reach as high as 87% this time. Among foreign service workers serving in embassies and consulates outside of Israel, voter turnout was 90%. According to The Central Elections Committee, that number is usually closer to 70%.

In order to help those living abroad come back to cast votes, an organization called Fly & Vote was set up by the America-Israel Democracy Coalition, a U.S.-based group which was originally created in 2023 to stop the effort by Likud to reform the judicial system.

While organizations and political parties are prohibited from paying for any kind of transportation for people inside or outside of Israel, Aid Coalition has found other ways to facilitate the voting.

Fly & Vote, which has been funded by private donations, chartered a flight for Israelis living in Portugal and bought blocks of tickets for flights from the New York area. Anyone on the flights had to pay for their own seats.

“Israelis who don’t live here still have a stake in what we do, and we want to help them,” said Ora Peled-Nakash, the group’s co-founder. “We don’t take a political position though and we don’t tell anyone how to vote, we just help them cast their ballot.”

Travelers will also have plenty of commercial options.

For decades El Al was the only Israeli airline to fly routes from the U.S. to Israel. Arkia started offering flights last year and Israir earlier this year. Legacy U.S. carriers United and Delta are also flying to Israel again after suspending flights due to the war with Iran. Germany’s Lufthansa flies to Israel from Europe and British Airways is scheduled to re-start flights this week.

What’s more, the price is in line with what it would be during normal times, Peled-Nakash said. There were still a few seats left on El Al flights from JFK or Newark airports ranging from $1,300 to $2,500 as of Sunday, according to research from CNBC.

After years of political instability that saw five elections between 2019 and 2022, Tueday’s election result could help shape Israel’s political, security and economic direction for years to come. But it also shows how politically divided the country has become.