Across the sea and the years, Israelis who once made new lives in Melbourne, Sydney, New York and beyond are booking long flights home, because their country's law asks them to cast ballots in person on a single day. It is a small human cost paid for a large civic purpose: a nation trying to decide whether its leadership, shaped by the trauma of October 7 and the weight of living costs, should continue or give way. Whatever the count shows, the deeper decision will likely unfold in the quieter work of coalition-building that follows.
Thousands of Israeli expats, including Australians, fly home to vote in a pivotal election
"This is our motherland and our motherland needs us right now."
Mark
Why are people flying across the world just to vote?
Mimi
Because Israel doesn't allow postal or overseas voting for most citizens. Ballots are cast in person on election day, with exceptions only for serving soldiers and diplomats.
Mark
How big is this movement?
Mimi
The AID Coalition says up to 67,000 people, about half from the United States. Anat Dror says 500 to 1,000 are coming from Australia.
Luke
Both of those are estimates. The 67,000 comes from surveys and registration data gathered by the group running the campaign, and the Australian number is one person's belief. Nobody has confirmed how many will actually vote.
Mark
Is it only one side mobilising?
Mimi
The coalition calls itself non-partisan, and Likud tried to block it in September before withdrawing its appeal after an agreement. The two voters in the story both lean toward the anti-Netanyahu camp.
Luke
Two people don't tell us how the whole group will vote. The story doesn't say what the agreement with Likud contained, either.
Mark
What are the voters worried about?
Mimi
October 7 looms large, but Dror also points to cost of living, which she says predates it. Marom talks about division among the people.
Mark
And the polls?
Luke
Channel 12 and 13 had Yashar a few seats ahead of Likud, but that's a small margin. Neither side is shown reaching 61 seats, so coalition talks will matter more than the headline result.
El Pulso
- Up to 67,000 overseas Israelis are boarding planes to reach polling booths, many spending money and leaving jobs and children behind to vote.
- Likud once tried to block the Fly&Vote initiative with an appeal to the elections committee, then dropped it after a deal, sharpening the sense of a contested process.
- Gadi Eisenkot's new Yashar party is polling a few seats ahead of Netanyahu's Likud, turning the election into a stark referendum on the prime minister.
- Neither bloc is expected to reach the 61-seat majority, so the real struggle will move from ballot boxes into tense, uncertain coalition negotiations.
Across the sea and the years, Israelis who once made new lives in Melbourne, Sydney, New York and beyond are booking long flights home, because their country's law asks them to cast ballots in person on a single day. It is a small human cost paid for a large civic purpose: a nation trying to decide whether its leadership, shaped by the trauma of October 7 and the weight of living costs, should continue or give way. Whatever the count shows, the deeper decision will likely unfold in the quieter work of coalition-building that follows.
Anat Dror has lived in Melbourne for almost five years and recently became an Australian citizen, yet this week she is in Israel for a single reason: to vote. Israeli law allows citizens abroad to cast ballots only in person on election day, so anyone living overseas must make the journey themselves.
She is one of many. The AID Coalition, a non-partisan US group, estimates as many as 67,000 voters are returning, with about half coming from the United States and the rest from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Activists around the world have helped organise the trips. Likud, the party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to halt the initiative with an appeal before withdrawing it after reaching an agreement.
Dror estimates that between 500 and 1,000 Australian-based Israelis are making the trip, a figure she offers as her own guess rather than a confirmed count. For her, the cost is real: lost work, an expensive ticket, and time away from her children. "This is our motherland and our motherland needs us right now," she said.
She believes Israel is still shaken by the October 7 attack and that its shadow hangs over the election, though the country's cost-of-living troubles predate it. She wants Netanyahu's government gone but will not back any single candidate, saying she trusts none of the politicians and hopes the anti-Netanyahu bloc can put differences aside.
Guy Marom, who left Israel for Australia during the pandemic, is still undecided on a candidate but expects his vote to go to one of the change parties. He sees Netanyahu as contributing to national division, even if he is not its sole cause.
With the polls so close, the decisive contest may come after Tuesday, when both major parties must negotiate a coalition to reach 61 seats. Those talks, more than election night itself, are likely to determine who governs.
Anat Dror has lived in Melbourne for almost five years and recently became an Australian citizen. This week she is in Israel, having flown there for one purpose: to cast a ballot. Israeli law lets citizens vote only in person on election day, with exceptions for serving soldiers and diplomats, so anyone else living overseas has to make the trip themselves.
She is far from alone. The AID Coalition, a US-based non-profit that describes itself as non-partisan, estimates that as many as 67,000 voters are returning to Israel. Its figure comes from surveys of expatriates and registration data gathered for its Fly&Vote initiative. About half are flying in from the United States, and the rest from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Activists have mobilised around the world to organise the journeys.
The Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to stop the initiative. In September it lodged an appeal with the elections committee against Fly&Vote, then withdrew the case after reaching an agreement.
The vote is being described as the most consequential in Israel in decades, and largely as a referendum on Mr Netanyahu's leadership and his handling of Hamas's October 7 attacks. His main challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief who leads the newly established opposition party Yashar. The most recent figures from Channel 12 and Channel 13, released on Thursday, put Yashar a few seats ahead of Likud.
Dror estimates that between 500 and 1,000 Israeli citizens from Australia are making the journey. That is her own estimate, not a confirmed count. She says the community's large Israeli WhatsApp group joked that it might meet for coffee in Tel Aviv rather than Melbourne. The cost is real, she says: missed work days, an expensive ticket, and time away from her children. "This is our motherland and our motherland needs us right now," she told the ABC.
She says Israel is still reeling from the trauma of the October 7, 2023 attack, and that its shadow hangs over this election. But she argues the country's broader troubles, including intense cost-of-living pressure, began before the attack. She believes Mr Netanyahu's government needs to go, yet she will not publicly back a single candidate in the so-called "change" camp, the anti-Netanyahu parties that include Yashar. "I don't trust any of them," she said of politicians, adding that she is counting instead on the bloc's ability to set aside differences and personal gain to build a diverse coalition.
Guy Marom moved to Australia with his family during the COVID-19 pandemic. As he packed his bags in Sydney's north-east, he was also undecided on a candidate, but said his vote would go to one of the "change" parties. He said most of their leaders are, in his view, trustworthy, and that he hopes they will shape a different Israel. Of Mr Netanyahu, he said he is perhaps not the single cause of division among the people, but contributes to it.
After Tuesday's vote, both major parties will have to enter complicated coalition negotiations, since forming a government requires a 61-seat majority. With the polls this close, those talks, rather than election night itself, are likely to decide who governs.
Citas Notables
I don't trust any of them, nor should anyone ever trust politicians' words before elections.— Anat Dror, Israeli-Australian voter from Melbourne
He is perhaps not the single cause, but he contributes to the division among the people.— Guy Marom, Israeli citizen travelling from Sydney (paraphrased)
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Lee el original en ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation ↗
Politics & Governance