Israelis flying from US to vote leaning on network built during judicial overhaul protests

Israeli expats in the US, who built activist networks during the 2023 judicial overhaul protests, are using those networks to organize travel back to Israel to vote in the upcoming elections. A nonpartisan group estimates 53,000 Israelis abroad will make the trip. Activists cite concern over Prime Minister Netanyahu and the direction of the country.

Israeli expats in the United States, who built extensive activist networks during the 2023 protests against the judicial overhaul, are now repurposing those networks to organize travel back to Israel to vote in the upcoming elections. Israel does not allow absentee voting for citizens abroad, except for diplomats and official emissaries. A nonpartisan US nonprofit, AID Coalition, estimates that 53,000 Israelis living abroad will make the trip to vote, based on a survey of 17,500 respondents. Activists in New York, Boston, and other cities are coordinating through WhatsApp groups originally created for the overhaul protests and later used for hostage advocacy after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Maya Ben-Meir, an Israeli musician in New York, said the impetus to vote in her circles was "absolutely because of Netanyahu." Josh Drill, a former spokesperson for the anti-overhaul movement now studying in New York, said the protests "enabled this broader movement to understand that we have power over what happens." Eitan Berechman, a 22-year-old musician from Boston, called the election "the most consequential in Israeli history." The article notes that polls in Israel do not survey expats flying in to vote, making the bloc a potential wild card.