A campaign seeking to bring tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad home for the October 27 election has run into opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, which wants the country’s electoral authorities to stop the effort.
Likud has petitioned the Central Elections Committee against initiatives that provide returning expatriates with cheaper air tickets, assistance with voting procedures and transport after they arrive at the airport.
Attorney Ilan Bombach, who represents Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, filed the appeal on Wednesday with the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, asking that the measures be brought to an end.
Under Israeli electoral law, citizens living outside the country cannot cast their ballots from abroad. The only exceptions are diplomats and emissaries representing certain organisations.
The Central Bureau of Statistics estimates that about 600,000 Israelis live outside Israel, making expatriate voters a sizeable group even though they are required to be physically present in the country to vote.
For several weeks, government opponents have been encouraging Israelis abroad to travel back home for the election, with the aim of increasing participation among voters they hope will support the anti-Netanyahu camp.
At the centre of the dispute is the US-based AID Coalition, which describes itself as an apolitical organisation and says it works towards "strengthening and preserving the democratic foundations of the State of Israel".
The coalition is behind the "Fly&Vote" campaign, which has been helping Israelis living abroad with the process of returning home to participate in the election. Likud’s complaint also names the opposition Democrats party.
Bombach’s appeal, seen by AFP, argues that the arrangements amount to an "electoral bribe" and breach laws regulating the financing of political parties.
Likud says the campaign still provides an unlawful benefit even where travellers pay for their own tickets. According to the party, the lower fares negotiated with airlines through group bookings are themselves benefits that should not be offered under election rules.
The AID Coalition had not immediately responded to the petition.
The organisation has defended its campaign on its website, describing the forthcoming election as "critical for the future of the country".
It also says the requirement for Israeli citizens to be physically present in the country to vote "impacts hundreds of thousands of dedicated Israelis who serve in the reserves... pay taxes, and never-endingly support Israel".
Michal Dagon, who is associated with the AID Coalition, recently told the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper that the group was working to bring between 50,000 and 70,000 Israelis from abroad back to Israel for the election.
Organisers said more than 30,000 people had already signed up for the initiative.
The legal challenge comes ahead of an election that polls indicate could be closely contested, with Netanyahu’s bloc facing the camp led by his main rival, centrist Gadi Eisenkot.
The October 27 vote is therefore drawing attention to the large number of Israeli citizens living abroad, who under existing rules must return to the country if they want to take part in the election.