From Seafarers' Voices to Air Trains: The Heated Battle Over Israelis' Voting Abroad

Ahead of the 26th Knesset elections on October 27, 2026, the debate over voting by Israelis abroad is heating up. About 550,000 Israelis live abroad, and their theoretical electoral weight is estimated at 15 seats. Civil initiatives are organizing 'air trains' to bring voters, and Likud has petitioned the Central Elections Committee to ban this activity. Meanwhile, many Israelis discovered their names were removed from the voter registry and encountered technical glitches in Interior Ministry systems.

Ahead of the 26th Knesset elections, scheduled for October 27, 2026, the public and political debate over voting by Israelis abroad is reigniting. According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, about 550,000 Israelis currently live abroad, and their theoretical electoral weight is estimated at 15 seats. However, under the law, citizens residing abroad are not eligible to vote unless they arrive in Israel on election day. In recent weeks, civil initiatives have emerged to organize and fund 'air trains' and accommodation arrangements for tens of thousands of Israelis abroad, to physically bring them to polling stations. The move sparked a political storm, and a urgent appeal was filed with the Likud party to the Central Elections Committee demanding a ban on this activity, claiming it constitutes improper assistance to skew election results. Meanwhile, many Israelis abroad discovered that their names were removed or deleted from the voter registry, and their attempts to check eligibility through the Interior Ministry's online systems encountered technical glitches. Experts and legal scholars, including Yair Shahar from the Movement for Quality Government, argue that the existing law, dating back to 1948, is outdated, and an absurd situation has arisen where citizens are discriminated against compared to prisoners who are eligible to vote. The issue has accompanied the state for years, with disagreements between right-wing parties supporting expanding voting rights and center, left, and Arab parties opposing it. The struggle reflects a value debate over the degree of affinity required of a voter and the identity of Israeli democracy.