Tens of Thousands of Israelis Return from Abroad for Pivotal Election on Nation’s Future

Haifa and Tel Aviv, Israel
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Oct. 27, 2026, 5:00 a.m. ET

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4 min read

To cast a ballot in Israel’s pivotal elections Tuesday, Shai Schoenfeld had to fly home.

But unlike most Israeli expatriates, his return voyage was a 10,000-mile, 30-plus-hour odyssey from a remote sheep station in the Australian outback to his village in the Galilee, in northern Israel.

His transit from Down Under put him in rare company among the tens of thousands of Israelis returning to the country from around the globe to vote in parliamentary elections widely regarded as critical for the Jewish state’s future.

“I’m doing this 99% out of fear,” says the 20-something Mr. Schoenfeld, who will be participating in his second national election. It is “probably the most important election we’ve ever had as a country.”

The length of his travels is a barometer for the importance he places on this election.

From the ranch near Tarcoola, in southern Australia, where he’d been working in recent months, he drove eight hours to the southern city of Adelaide to catch a two-hour flight to Sydney. There he boarded a 14.5-hour flight to Abu Dhabi and then another three-hour flight to Tel Aviv, before driving two hours home to the village of Kfar Hananya.

“The whole world is about to boycott us. We’ve failed in every battlefront – I feel like we’ve failed – and just the people on both sides, to be honest, are suffering. And I think it’s time for a change,” Mr. Schoenfeld says.

Dimitri holds a sheep at a farm where he works near Tarcoola, Australia. He traveled 10,000 miles from this remote sheep station in Australia to vote in Tuesday’s election.

Tuesday’s contest is expected to be a tight race pitting Benjamin Netanyahu and his religious and ultranationalist allies against a coalition led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff, that seeks to unseat Israel’s longest serving prime minister. The vote is widely perceived to be a referendum on the country’s future, and on Mr. Netanyahu’s fitness to serve as prime minister after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.

The final preelection polls published Friday suggest that neither Mr. Netanyahu’s nor Mr. Eisenkot’s bloc will win an outright majority. With few swing voters in this highly polarized country, the final results will largely hinge on voter turnout.

Israel doesn’t allow absentee voting. Aside from diplomatic delegations, eligible voters living abroad must fly back to Israel to exercise their democratic right.

The number of Israelis returning from abroad to vote is tough to nail down precisely, but AID Coalition, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization advocating for overseas Israelis to vote, estimated that around 67,000 people were flying to Israel to participate in the elections.

Ron, an Israeli citizen living in New York, says he hasn’t voted in Israel since the 2003 elections. Outraged by the Netanyahu government’s attempt to defang the country’s judiciary, which led to massive pro-democracy demonstrations in Israel in the months before the Hamas attack, he bought a ticket in July after seeing an AID Coalition advertisement on social media.

“I choose not to take the risk of losing the country, and having it potentially become a pariah state,” Ron says. He asked to be identified only by his first name because he conducts business extensively in the Muslim world, including states with which Israel does not have formal diplomatic relations. “If I want to protect that future, then I’d better show up to vote when it’s most critical.”

Courtesy of Shai Schoenfeld

Shai Schoenfeld holds a sheep at a farm where he works near Tarcoola, Australia. He traveled 10,000 miles from this remote sheep station in Australia to Israel to vote in Tuesday’s election.

AID Coalition, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization advocating for overseas Israelis to vote, estimates that approximately 67,000 Israelis have traveled from abroad to cast their ballot in the pivotal parliamentary election. The influx represents a dramatic surge in voting participation, with tens of thousands of citizens making the arduous journey to the Israeli mainland to exercise their democratic right.

To cast a ballot in Israel’s pivotal elections on Tuesday, Shai Schoenfeld had to undertake an extensive 10,000-mile, 30-hour journey from a remote sheep station in Australia’s outback to his village in northern Israel’s Galilee region. His flight path encompassed a drive to Adelaide, a connecting flight to Abu Dhabi, and another leg to Tel Aviv before final transportation home to Kfar Hananya.

“I’m executing this 99% out of fear,” stated the 20-year-old Mr. Schoenfeld, who will participate in his second national election. He described the contest as “probably the most important election we’ve ever had as a country.”

The duration of his travel represents a clear signal of the high stakes he places on the upcoming parliamentary vote.

Coming from the southern Australian town of Tarcoola, where he had been working recently, his itinerary began with a drive to Adelaide—eight hours’ trip—to catch a connecting flight to Sydney, followed by a 14.5-hour journey to Abu Dhabi and a final three-hour flight to Tel Aviv, with two hours’ drive home to his village.

“The entire world is preparing to place a boycott on us. We have failed in every battlefront; honestly, nearly every side is suffering. And I believe it is time for change,” Mr. Schoenfeld declared.

Courtesy of Offir Gutelzon

Offir Gutelzon waited for his flight to board at San Francisco airport on October 25, 2026. He traveled to Israel alongside a group of Israelis residing in the Bay Area, many of whom are casting their votes for opposition parties.

Like him, many returning voters are driven by a desire to end Mr. Netanyahu’s 19 years in power. On Sunday, Offir Gutelzon boarded a 15-hour flight from San Francisco to Tel Aviv. He and dozens of fellow passengers—many high-tech workers from the Bay Area—wore identical T‑shirts bearing the phrase “Flight for Change” upon their arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport.

“Israel is the homeland of all Jewish people, and I feel I represent all of us since I have the privilege to vote,” said Mr. Gutelzon, co‑founder of the Israeli‑American pro‑democracy organization UnXeptable. The group has organized protests against Mr. Netanyahu’s government and its planned judicial overhaul since 2023.

“I am voting for my family in Israel and to help preserve Jewish and democratic values,” he stated. The current wave of Israelis returning for this vote represents a significantly larger scale than previous mass returns, such as those following the 1973 Middle East conflict or the October 7 attacks.

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At the terminal in Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Daniel and Ariela Icekson awaited their connecting flight to Tel Aviv after departing from near Boston to oppose Mr. Netanyahu.

“These are the most fateful elections in Israeli history, the final opportunity to effect change,” said Mr. Icekson. Referring to Mr. Netanyahu by his nickname, he suggested it may be “the last chance to overthrow Bibi.”

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