4 minWorld
Expat Israelis return home to vote in tight election
Thousands of Israeli expatriates are flying back to vote in the country's close election, sparking debate over their influence on the outcome.
Thousands of Israeli expatriates have returned home to vote in the country's tight election, a move that has ignited debate over how much political influence they should have. The surge of diaspora voters comes as polls suggest a closely contested race, with both major blocs seeking every possible advantage.
The return of expats has drawn attention because the outcome of the vote is expected to be decided by a narrow margin. Israeli citizens living abroad are eligible to vote, and their participation has become a point of contention among political observers and voters at home who question whether those who have chosen to live outside the country should weigh heavily on its future.
The election on Oct. 27 pits the longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, against retired Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, a highly decorated former military chief. According to a number of polls, Eisenkot's centrist party, Yashar, holds a narrow lead over Netanyahu's Likud. Either party would need to assemble a 61-seat majority across parties to form a new coalition government.
Eisenkot, who is fairly new to politics, was born in Tiberias in northern Israel to a Jewish-Moroccan family that moved to the Red Sea city of Eilat when he was a toddler. He served as a career soldier in the elite Golani Brigade and rose to become chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 until 2019. Yossi Melman, a journalist who covers intelligence and defense, described him to Fox News Digital as a soldier who is brave and humble, noting that Eisenkot once declined the chief of staff appointment because he felt then General Benny Gantz should receive it.
Eisenkot's Mizrahi background would also carry historic weight. Jews who originate from North Africa and the Middle East have not held the prime minister's office, which has been held by Israelis of Eastern European, or Ashkenazi, descent since the founding of the state in 1948. If Eisenkot prevails, he would be the first Israeli prime minister of Moroccan origin.
The war that followed the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, also shaped his public profile. Eisenkot joined Netanyahu's war cabinet as a minister without portfolio, and after roughly eight months he resigned, blaming the prime minister for failing to implement a comprehensive strategy. His family was deeply affected by the conflict: his son, 25-year-old Master Sergeant Gal Eisenkot, was killed by Hamas in December 2023, and two of his nephews were also killed. Netanyahu and his wife Sara said at the time that they were devastated by Gal's death and called Eisenkot a true hero.
Military historian Danny Orbach of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem assessed both the strengths and weaknesses of Eisenkot's record. He said Eisenkot bears responsibility for shaping the army that existed on Oct. 7, 2023, an army that achieved significant successes against Hezbollah, Iran and in Gaza but failed badly on that day. Orbach argued that Eisenkot's support stems less from his energy or platform than from his position as the default alternative to Netanyahu, adding that an Eisenkot government could remove far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from power, confront Jewish extremist violence in the West Bank and begin repairing Israel's damaged international standing.
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