Tens of thousands of Israelis will fly home to vote: "10/7 shook everyone, they want to come and make an impact"
Tens of thousands of Israelis abroad are planning to fly home to vote in the elections on October 27. At a panel at ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth's "People of the State" conference, disputes arose over the voting rights of Israelis abroad and the voting method. President of the Israel Democracy Institute, Yohanan Plesner, said Israel is at the extreme end of the scale in the democratic world regarding voting methods, and there are ways to fix this.
Exactly two weeks remain until the elections on October 27, and tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are planning to fly home specifically to vote. At a panel at ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth's "People of the State" conference, participants included Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute; Yonatan Bar Shade, President of FLY & VOTE, AID Coalition; and Yaron Dekel, political commentator. Bar Shade said that 22% of Israelis abroad see the upcoming elections as "critical." Dekel pointed to October 7 as a factor that increased concern. Plesner distinguished between Israelis who have moved their residence abroad and those for whom Israel is still the center of their lives. According to him, Israel is at the extreme end of the scale in the democratic world regarding voting methods, and there are ways to fix this. The discussion also addressed whether the arrival of Israelis represents one political side; Dekel said that this time, those coming are mainly liberals who want to change the political map, and Likud is worried.