MK Katz. 'Age of globalization enables voting overseas'
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Lieberman. Got Netanyahu's promise
Photo: Yaron Brener
Netanyahu. To delay debate
Photo: Noam Moskowitz
Ministers pledge to endorse expat bill
Prime Minister's Office likely to try and postpone debate on bill enabling Israeli citizens residing abroad to vote in Knesset elections which is scheduled to be discussed by Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs
The Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs is scheduled to discuss on Sunday a bill initiated
by Knesset Member Yaakov Katz (National Union)
proposing that any voter listed in the electoral register who has had an Israeli passport for at least 10 years will be able to vote in Knesset elections overseas.
Earlier this year, a similar proposal stirred a public debate. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged before Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman to promote the bill, however he eventually succumbed to public pressure and postponed the debate.
Several ministers promised to endorse the bill, including Gilad Erdan, Moshe Kahlon, Yossi Peled and Michael Eitan. Erdan, who previously submitted a similiar bill together with Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, said he endorses the proposal but presented several terms pertaining to the potential voters' identities. He stated he would make a final decision after reading the bill.
Government officials said the vote may be postponed again in light of the sensitivity of the issue. They said that according to coalition agreements the bill requires the consent of all coalition factions.
"In the age of globalization when many citizens happen to be abroad during election day, they should be allowed to participate in the elections via the Israeli missions, in accordance with a procedure maintained in most of the democratic states in the world such as Britain, Germany, Holland, the United States, Australia and New Zealand," the bill states.
The ministerial committee is also slated to discuss a bill put forward by MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi) proposing to amend the definition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and have it state that Jerusalem is the "capital of Israel and the Jewish people."
Aviad Glickman contributed to this report
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