Bar Luzon, an Israeli citizen and MIT assistant professor living in Cambridge, Mass., never voted in Israeli elections until Oct. 7, 2023, which changed her perspective. She now plans to fly back to Israel to vote against Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies in the upcoming Oct. 27 election. Unlike many democracies, Israel does not permit most citizens abroad to vote absentee, forcing overseas voters to make the transatlantic trip. She is among thousands of Israelis abroad expected to return and cast ballots.
According to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, roughly 630,000 Israeli citizens live overseas — about 6 percent of the population. The American-Israel Democracy Coalition anticipates over 50,000 will return to vote, potentially influencing a tightly contested race. Polls show a dead heat between the governing coalition and opposition, making every vote critical.
In 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu won his first term by a single percentage point, a margin partly attributed to overseas voters. Similarly, Peru’s 2023 presidential election was decided by votes from abroad. Given Israel’s proportional parliamentary system, small shifts can dramatically alter outcomes — as seen in 2022, when Netanyahu’s coalition secured 64 of 120 Knesset seats with just 48.4 percent of the vote.
Since Oct. 7, many Israelis abroad have felt compelled to act. “They came out of their bubble,” said Jonathan Barsade of the AID Coalition. Secular, university-educated Israelis — often left-leaning — are more likely to have moved abroad and can afford the journey home to vote.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing