In New York City, I am organizing Israelis to do something citizens of many democracies can do without crossing an ocean: vote in our national election.
I moved here from Tel Aviv to pursue a master’s degree in strategic communication at Columbia University. Around me are Israeli students, entrepreneurs, and tech workers who came for different reasons. Some left after October 7 shattered their sense of security and trust. But living abroad has not made Israel any less our home or its future any less our responsibility.
Since Israel does not permit ordinary citizens abroad to vote absentee, we must fly home to reach the ballot box. In the United States, by contrast, citizens living overseas can vote absentee in federal elections. Asking Israelis to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars and travel for hours simply to vote is an extraordinary burden.
It was reported that senior Transportation Ministry officials, under Transportation Minister Miri Regev, discussed restricting non-scheduled flights before the election and limiting airport slots allocated to charter flights. The reported concern was that Israelis returning from abroad would vote against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trying to make this journey harder for us is disgraceful and undemocratic.
When war breaks out, the government calls on Israelis abroad to get on a plane and report for reserve duty, but when we seek to return in order to vote, the government works to block our path to the ballot box.
Israelis abroad should not be treated like threats
Recent polling places Netanyahu’s existing bloc below the 61 seats required to govern. The government that presided over the catastrophic failures of October 7 has every reason to fear public judgment. However, it has no right to use state infrastructure to influence who will deliver that judgment.
Such an effort would also backfire politically. By treating Israelis abroad as a threat, the government only deepens our alienation from it. Every attempt to obstruct us from exercising our democratic right to vote creates more anger and more determination to replace this government in the upcoming historic elections.
For many Israelis like me, flying home to vote is also personal. October 7 caused my generation to carry grief, fear, and trauma. A ballot will not erase our trauma, but it can restore our agency, which is crucial to the healing process. We will not remain passive. We will take responsibility for what Israel becomes next.
The Transportation Ministry and Israel Airports Authority should guarantee transparent slot allocation and sufficient capacity before Election Day. The attorney general and the Central Elections Committee should scrutinize and prevent any decision that will restrict incoming voters.
And Israelis abroad should book their flights, as thousands already have.
For me, this moment is about far more than one election. My vision is that the Israelis flying home to vote will become part of a broader movement of Israelis returning to Israel for the long term, ready to live there and build a different future together.
We have not lost hope in Israel. We believe that through partnership and determined political action, we can create real change and lead the country to peace, security, and equality.
The writer is a former Golani officer and peace builder.