Thousands of Israeli expats book flights home for high-stakes election

Some citizens are preparing to cross continents—and spend substantial sums of money—simply to place a ballot in a box.

By Gabriel Ostrovsky, The Algemeiner

Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are preparing to fly home for October’s national election, with demand already driving up airfares and prompting special flight arrangements, according to Israeli news reports.

The uptick in airfare is a striking sign of the intensity surrounding a vote that many Israelis see as among the most consequential in the country’s history.

Because Israel, unlike many democracies, generally does not allow citizens living abroad to cast absentee ballots, Israelis overseas who want to participate in the Oct. 27 election must physically return to the country.

Many appear prepared to do exactly that.

Israeli travel company Gulliver has recorded a jump of “tens of percent” in bookings to Israel during election week compared with the weeks immediately before and after it, CEO Tamar Gerzhon told Israel’s Channel 12 news in July.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live abroad, creating a sizable pool of potential voters who can only participate by returning to the country.

Europe alone is home to an estimated 190,000 to 200,000 Israelis — nearly 30 percent of the global Israeli expatriate population — according to research previously covered by The Algemeiner.

That migration has helped create increasingly prominent Israeli communities in cities including Berlin, Amsterdam, and London.

The increased demand has already affected fares.

According to figures provided by Gulliver to N12, prices for election-period flights were up 24 percent from Greece compared with the equivalent period a year earlier, 14 percent from Berlin, 6 percent from Cyprus, and roughly 5 percent from London and Amsterdam.

The mobilization has continued to grow.

Israel Hayom reported on Monday that Fly&Vote, an initiative helping eligible Israelis abroad navigate the logistical hurdles of returning to cast a ballot, has now arranged a dedicated flight from Lisbon and blocks of seats on six flights from New York because of high demand and limited availability on some routes.

Seats were “filling quickly,” according to the report. The New York tickets are being offered for $1,800 round trip, while the Lisbon flight costs $580, including taxes and baggage.

Fly&Vote does not pay for voters’ tickets. Rather, the initiative provides information about voter eligibility and polling locations and uses concentrated demand to help locate and arrange flights.

The numbers involved could be significant in Israel’s closely divided political system.

N12 reported in late July that approximately 30,000 eligible voters had already registered with Fly&Vote.

Half were seeking to travel from the United States, with others coming from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Britain, Canada, France, Australia, Portugal, Thailand, and Germany.

And those registrations do not necessarily capture Israelis arranging their journeys independently.

Ynet has reported growing numbers of expatriate Israelis posting screenshots of election-week tickets they purchased themselves, sometimes at a cost of thousands of dollars.

The phenomenon offers a vivid counterpoint to frequent claims that Israelis have become exhausted or disengaged after years of political upheaval, war, and repeated elections.

Instead, some citizens are preparing to cross continents—and spend substantial sums of money—simply to place a ballot in a box.

That enthusiasm has itself become politically contentious.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has challenged Fly&Vote’s activity, arguing in a legal warning that assistance offered to overseas voters could violate election-financing and anti-bribery laws.

Fly&Vote rejects the allegation, stressing that it does not subsidize tickets or ask participants how they intend to vote.

The organization describes itself as nonpartisan, although the group behind it has roots in the protest movement that opposed the government’s judicial overhaul plan.

Israeli reporting has also found returning voters from across the political spectrum, including Netanyahu supporters.

Whatever their preferences, the willingness of so many Israelis abroad to undertake an expensive international trip underscores the stakes voters attach to the coming election.

One Israeli student living in the United States told Israel Hayom that the election would send a signal “regarding where the State of Israel is going.”