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Netanyahu seeks to stop 'sky voters': Against initiative that brings Israelis from abroad for October elections

2026-09-19 17:15:59Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Netanyahu seeks to stop 'sky voters': Against initiative that brings
Election campaign in Israel

With just weeks to go before Israel's parliamentary elections, the fiercest political battle is taking place not only on the ground but also in the air. Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are booking tickets to return home on election day, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is trying to stem some of that flow.

On Wednesday, Likud filed a petition with Israel's Central Elections Committee to block the "Fly & Vote" initiative, a citizen initiative that helps Israelis in the diaspora find ways to return to the country to vote. Netanyahu's party accuses the initiative of being an illegal, foreign-funded operation that it says could "seriously damage the integrity of the elections."

In a country where electoral outcomes are often decided by very narrow margins, the vote of Israelis living abroad can be decisive. Unlike many Western democracies, Israel does not allow postal voting from abroad. Only diplomats and official representatives can vote outside Israeli territory. Ordinary citizens abroad, who can make up up to 10% of the population at any given time, must physically return to Israel or lose their right to vote.

“Fly & Vote” was created by the America-Israel Democracy AID Coalition, a US-based nonprofit founded in 2023. The organization says it does not directly pay for travel tickets, but helps citizens find cheaper flights, alternative routes, group fares and logistical solutions, including passport renewals, voting rights verification and the possibility of charter flights if demand is high.

According to organizers, more than 35,000 Israelis have already registered on the platform, while internal polls suggest that over 50,000 citizens could return to vote.

The October 27 elections will be the first after four turbulent years under Netanyahu's right-wing and ultra-Orthodox coalition, a period marked by mass protests against judicial reform, the October 7, 2023 attack and the multi-front war that followed. Recent polls show that neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the fragmented opposition will achieve the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.

Herein lies Likud's political fear: if tens of thousands of Israelis from the diaspora return to vote, they could tip the balance of what is expected to be a very close race. For Netanyahu, this time, the battle is not just about the ballot boxes. It's also about the planes that can fill them.


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