On Oct. 25, David and Ella Harlev will fly to Israel to vote in the country’s national elections, scheduled for Oct. 27. Each paid $2,600 for a plane ticket, and they are planning to fly back to Los Angeles on Nov. 1. The Israeli couple, who have lived in L.A. for the past 32 years, are not alone. Tens of thousands of Israelis from around the world are planning to make the same trip to Israel to cast their ballots.
Israel is among the relatively small group of countries that do not allow ordinary citizens living abroad to vote in national elections from overseas. For many Israelis abroad, that means spending thousands of dollars, taking time off work and traveling across the ocean simply to cast a ballot.
Despite the fact that the Harlevs have no plans to return to live in Israel, one of their children has made Aliyah, and most of their family members still live there. “It’s important enough for us to make the effort and come vote,” Ella said. “We are at a crossroads in Israeli politics, and I believe this election could be one of the most important ever. Many of our friends are also planning to go to Israel, and most of them have no plans to move back.”
Rachel and Aharon live in San Diego and declined to give their last name. They purchased their plane tickets in July. “We’re going to vote for Bibi,” Aharon said. “It’s easy to blame Netanyahu for everything, but I don’t believe anyone else has what it takes to lead this country.” The couple has lived in the United States for 27 years and plans to return to Israel, where their children and grandchildren live. “We don’t know what will happen if someone else takes his place,” Aharon said. “That’s a scary thought.”
“We usually travel to Israel for Rosh Hashanah, but this year we decided to skip the High Holy Days and go just before the election,” said Riki Abraham, who lives in the Valley. “I’m traveling with my husband and our two children, who were born here but are also Israeli citizens. My son also served in the IDF.”
The trip will cost the Abraham family close to $10,000, but they believe it is worth the expense. “I think Bibi Netanyahu needs to go. I believe he has failed as a leader, and we need someone new,” Riki said. “I actually used to love him, but what happened on Oct. 7 [2023] and afterward made me realize that he is no longer the leader I once believed him to be.”
The Journal spoke with a dozen Israelis from California who are planning to travel to Israel for the election. Some immigrated to the United States after Oct. 7, while others have lived here for many years. About half said they are planning to move back to Israel one day. When asked whom they plan to vote for, most said they intend to vote for anyone but Benjamin Netanyahu, including some who identify as being on the right of the political map.
Sigal Lerner, a travel agent in L.A., said she plans to vote for Gadi Eisenkot. “Regardless of what happened on Oct. 7, and how Netanyahu was as a prime minister, I don’t think it’s healthy to have the same leader for so many years. Israel needs to wake up and make a change.”
Lerner doesn’t ask her clients whom they plan to vote for, but she said she has heard from colleagues on the East Coast that many Orthodox Jews are organizing trips to Israel to vote for Netanyahu. “It’s really difficult to say how much influence voters from the United States are going to have because you have both sides of the political map who are going back to vote,” she said.
Jonathan Barsade, president of Aid Coalition, which began in the United States a month before Oct. 7, 2023, has been helping Israelis living outside of Israel through his “Fly & Vote” initiative.
Barsade, who was born in Australia, grew up in Israel and has lived in the United States for 35 years, said in a Zoom interview with The Journal that the initiative was created to provide Israelis with information and logistical assistance so they can return to Israel and vote.
“People have many questions, like, ‘Do we have the right to vote? Where can we vote? What do we need to bring with us?’” he said.
Barsade said many people who contact the organization are unsure whether they are still eligible to vote, mistakenly believe they are no longer registered or think they can cast their ballot at an Israeli consulate where they live. The organization provides information and helps with the logistics of getting to Israel, including finding flights and, when necessary, arranging charter flights. Voters are advised that they need only one of three valid documents: an ID card, a driver’s license or an Israeli passport.
Israelis, he said, stay connected to Israel even years after they have left the country. He pointed to what happened immediately after Oct. 7, when thousands of Israelis living abroad boarded flights to Israel without a second thought. Many stayed for months to serve in the IDF. Others opened emergency operation centers, raised money and organized support for Israel.
“We live in a very different time than we did in the 1950s,” he said. “Back then, the attitude was that if you left Israel, you left. Today, people go abroad for a postdoc, for studies or for work and, even if they stay there for many years, they remain connected to Israel 24/7. They start their day by opening Israeli news sites and follow the news closely. They are very much involved, and there is no reason their voice should not be heard.”
Not everyone was happy about “Fly & Vote.”
In August, the Likud Party moved to challenge the initiative, threatening to appeal to the Central Elections Committee and take legal action against the organizations behind it. In a warning letter sent by Ilan Bombach, a legal advisor for Likud, the party argued that the initiative could violate election laws, including provisions prohibiting benefits to voters and attempts to influence their votes. The letter demanded that the organizations provide information and documents about the initiative and immediately halt activities that, according to the Likud, could affect the election process. Among the party’s claims were that the organizers maintained a database containing identifying information about voters and their voting intentions, arranged transportation for voters on Election Day outside the framework permitted by law and approached voters in an effort to persuade them not to vote for the Likud.
Barsade said that “Fly & Vote” has never asked voters whom they intend to support in the election. “We have no idea what they put in the ballot box.”
“I don’t know what their considerations were,” he said referring to the Likud Party. “It’s even more puzzling when you consider that the Likud and Benjamin Netanyahu tried to promote an initiative just a few years ago to allow citizens living abroad to vote. There has been a change in approach. The Likud is the only party that has expressed opposition.”
So far, 35,000 Israelis living abroad have registered through “Fly & Vote.” Barsade said he hopes the number will reach 50,000 before the election. The figure represents only those who have registered through the initiative – Israelis traveling to Israel independently to vote are not included.
When I asked Barsade why voting is so important to Israelis living abroad, he offered a phrase that, he said, captures the connection many still feel to Israel: “You can take Israelis out of Israel, but you can’t take Israel out of Israelis.”
