Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has sent a formal warning letter threatening legal action against AID Coalition, the nonprofit operating the “Fly & Vote” initiative, which subsidizes flights for Israelis living or staying abroad so they can return to Israel and cast ballots in the election.
The organization says the project is entirely nonpartisan and designed solely to encourage voter participation. “We do not check political preferences,” it said.
(Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
According to Likud attorney Ilan Bombach, the initiative offers Israelis abroad financial assistance toward flights to Israel in order to allow them to exercise their right to vote. Likud argues that providing such a benefit could amount to criminal election bribery and could also violate Israel’s Party Financing Law by constituting a prohibited contribution.
In its letter, the party demanded that the nonprofit take the project’s website offline and stop distributing what it described as benefits to voters.
AID Coalition rejects the allegation. It says “Fly & Vote” is a nonpartisan project aimed at increasing voter turnout and participation in the democratic process, regardless of which party a participant intends to support.
Because the organization does not ask voters about their political views, it argues, there is no basis for describing the subsidies as vote buying or election bribery.
The dispute comes as Israelis living abroad increasingly discuss plans to travel home for the October 27 election. Since the election date was announced, social media has seen a growing number of posts from Israelis overseas saying they intend to return to vote.
The issue has already become politically charged. Earlier this month, Likud appealed to the Central Elections Committee over a separate initiative offering free accommodation to voters arriving from abroad, arguing that the offer also constituted an improper benefit.
The broader debate has focused on whether Israelis who live outside the country should play a decisive role in an election whose consequences will primarily affect those living in Israel.
That argument has repeatedly been summed up in the claim: “You don’t live here. You don’t live this reality. You won’t decide for us.”