Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are returning home to vote in Tuesday's Knesset election, with some traveling thousands of miles and others arranging special flights after regular services were canceled. Among them are expatriates hoping to move back to Israel and others who say the country's political direction has changed how they feel about identifying as Israeli overseas.
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, approximately 810,000 eligible Israeli voters live abroad. The Fly&Vote initiative, which encourages Israelis overseas to exercise their voting rights, estimates that roughly 67,000 will return to Israel to participate in the October 27 election, potentially representing the equivalent of about one and a half Knesset seats.
Gallery
Israelis arriving at Ben Gurion Airport from Portugal to vote in Tuesday's Knesset election
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
The figure is an estimate by the initiative, rather than a confirmed count of voters who have arrived. Most Israeli citizens living overseas cannot cast their ballots abroad and must travel to Israel to vote.
On Sunday, a special flight from Portugal landed at Ben Gurion Airport carrying dozens of Israelis determined to make their voices heard at the ballot box. Representatives of Fly&Vote were waiting to welcome them in the arrivals hall.
The flight was arranged after Portuguese airline TAP canceled its services to Israel, leaving hundreds of Israelis who had planned to travel home for the election without their original flight arrangements.
‘We want to return, so it's important to be part of what happens here’
"If you want to make a difference, you have to take action. You can't wait for someone else to do the work," said Gali Mazor Biton, a married mother of three who has lived in Cascais, Portugal, for the past five years.
Standing in the arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport, she explained that she had come to Israel for just three days, specifically to cast her ballot.
"We want to return to Israel, so it's important for us to be part of what's happening here and to influence our future," she said.
But not everyone making the journey plans to move back to Israel. For some, the motivation is closely connected to their experience of being Israeli abroad.
Passengers arriving from Lisbon and representatives of the Fly&Vote initiative welcoming them at Ben Gurion Airport
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Itamar Tzahovel, a costume designer working in the film industry, has spent the past three decades living in Milan, Shanghai, Berlin and, most recently, Lisbon. He said Israel's policies have increasingly affected the way he is perceived overseas, prompting him to purchase a plane ticket and return to vote.
"Whenever I used to say I was Israeli, I said it with pride. That's no longer the case," he said.
"Today, when I say I'm from Israel, there's a certain defensiveness to it. I told myself, enough. I bought a ticket and came to make a difference. I want honest people running this country, so that every Jew in the Diaspora can stand tall and proudly say they're Israeli."
‘We could be the surprise of this election’
For Dana Levy, 51, originally from Jerusalem, the decision to travel from Lisbon, where she has lived for 23 years, came after an outpouring of encouragement from friends and former acquaintances.
"My friends convinced me to come especially because this time every vote matters," she said.
"The appeals came from everywhere. Friends in Israel, even my old group of friends from the Scouts in Jerusalem. They asked me to come and explained how important it was to vote in this election. They told me we must not end up again in a situation where there is no clear outcome."
Levy said the encouragement went beyond messages and phone calls. Israelis have established informal support networks to help people living abroad make the trip, including offering accommodation to those returning specifically to vote.
"I received so much support and assistance to make it here. There are even Facebook groups where people offer to host those arriving especially to vote. Everyone just wants me to come. It's incredibly moving," she said.
Her stay in Israel will be brief. She plans to vote and return immediately to Lisbon. But she believes overseas Israelis could have an impact that has not been fully reflected in election polling.
"I'm staying in Israel for a very short time. I'll vote and then go straight back to Lisbon," she said.
"I think the votes of Israelis living abroad will be the surprise of this election because nobody has counted us in the polls."
Ella Raz, 41, who has lived in Portugal for five years and works in tourism, expressed a similar sense of responsibility.
"It was absolutely clear to me that in this election I had to show up at the polling station and make a difference," she said.
"My entire family is in Israel, and I care deeply about what's happening in the country. Both for those who live here and for those of us who don't."
‘Israel is still our home’
The wave of returning voters is not limited to Europe. Israelis living in North America are also traveling to Israel to take part in the election.
Shay Eden, who works in human resources at a Jewish research institute in New York, spoke to ynet before boarding a flight with her husband, Josh Daryl.
"For us, Israel is our home," she said. "We're living in New York for a limited period, with the intention of returning. So even when we live abroad, we feel committed to the future of the country, its character and the values on which it will be built."
For Eden and her husband, the journey is about maintaining their connection to a country they still consider home, despite temporarily building their lives elsewhere.
"These elections are an opportunity to influence the direction Israel takes and the society we want to live in," she said.
"We believe that even two votes are part of our collective ability to make a difference, and that we shouldn't give up the opportunity to help shape the future."
She added: "This is our way of taking responsibility, making our voices heard and being part of the decision about the future of our home."
Whether the estimated tens of thousands of returning voters will materially affect the distribution of Knesset seats remains uncertain. Their political preferences and the number who will ultimately cast ballots cannot be determined from the travel estimates alone.
But for the Israelis arriving from Lisbon, New York and elsewhere, the motivation is already clear. They may have built lives far from Israel, but they are determined to participate in deciding its future.