Just ahead of Israel's 26th Knesset election, more Israelis living abroad arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to take part in the democratic process. "I left behind a 6-year-old child and my partner. I even parted with 1,000 euros just to come here and vote," Joelle Peleg, a resident of Brussels, Belgium, said upon her arrival Monday,
According to data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, approximately 810,000 eligible Israeli voters live abroad, and tens of thousands have traveled to Israel to influence the country's political future. Fly&Vote, an initiative aimed at helping Israelis overseas exercise their voting rights, estimates that 67,000 have returned to cast their ballots, equivalent to roughly one and a half Knesset seats.
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Lilach and Assaf Ben Rahamim from Haifa are flying on vacation and will not vote in the 2026 elections
(Photo: Roy Rubinstein)
Peleg, who has lived in Brussels for 12 years, said after landing, "I came to vote because things are terrible under the current government. A lot of people on my flight felt the same way I do, and I hope we'll be the force that brings victory."
Lior Fores, who arrived after a long flight from New York, said she had marked the date of Israel's election in her calendar months ago. "I came specifically to vote. This is a critical moment," she said.
Mor Ben Ami also flew in from New York for a brief visit to her homeland. Her 48-hour itinerary includes visiting her parents, casting her ballot and flying back home.
"It feels like our last chance to save the country," Ben Ami said. "We made enormous efforts to get here. There has been a lot of discussion about these elections in the American Jewish community. The goal is to make things better for us abroad as well, because we're the ones who have to explain what's happening here."
Tamar Sofer-Geri and her partner, Noam, arrived after a long flight from San Francisco. "This is the first time we've come back to vote in the 30 years we've lived there," Sofer-Geri said.
Noam added, "We've been involved in what's happening all along. We were here for the protests against the judicial overhaul."
Eilon Caspi, who has lived in Connecticut for more than 20 years, said, "This time, I felt there was so much at stake. The country is at a critical crossroads, and it's important to get it back on the right track. I knew I had to come. I'm appalled by what's happening in Israel."
Aviv, an Israeli resident living in London and returning home without voting in the 2026 elections
(Photo: Roy Rubinstein)
But some Israelis were heading in the opposite direction, choosing to forgo voting and take advantage of the opportunity to travel abroad.
Lilach and Assaf Ben Rahamim from Haifa, who had already postponed their honeymoon because of the war with Iran, decided they were not going to miss out on the golden beaches of Southeast Asia this time.
"We would have liked to vote, but that's just how it worked out," Assaf said. "We're disappointed we won't be here. We hope that when we return, there will be a government and we won't find ourselves caught in another round of elections."
Lilach added, "We'd like to see the right-wing bloc become a little stronger, but above all, we want a national unity government."
Aviv, an Israeli living in London, said at the departures hall, "I really wanted to stay and vote, but changing my flight would have cost 1,000 shekels. I'm really disappointed. Part of me didn't even want to make this flight."
Shalom, who was also flying to London, said: "What helped me decide to fly was that I wasn't even sure whom to vote for. I'm not worried. From the looks of things, there'll be another election, and then we'll come back to vote."