Will These Votes Be Decisive? New Immigrants in the Upcoming Elections

The State of Israel has officially entered a particularly charged election period, which some would say is among the most fateful in its history, with the dissolution of the Knesset earlier this month. While the voting public is scratching its head and the parties are beginning their primaries, attacking each other on social media, there is a group in Israeli society that feels left behind — new immigrants (Olim).

These are fresh Israelis who immigrated in recent years and have not yet experienced an Israeli election cycle, or those who were afraid to vote in the previous election due to a lack of deep understanding of the political reality in Israel.

However, October 7th — which for many was the reason for immigration — and the difficult reality that followed, both in Israel and for Diaspora Jews, highlighted the need to influence the future in the place they now call home. Especially when the confusion regarding Israeli politics is shared by quite a few Israelis who were born and raised here.

According to data from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, about 66,000 new immigrants will be eligible to vote for the first time in Israel, of whom more than 20,000 are immigrants from Western countries and almost 25,000 are immigrants from Russia. This is one of the most significant new voter groups in recent years, with thousands of immigrants from the USA, France, Ukraine, UK, and Canada. These figures reflect the significant increase in immigration from Western countries in recent years.

As part of the "11th Million" project, which we announced in "Israel Hayom" at the beginning of the year, we met with new immigrants from France, the USA, and the UK ahead of the upcoming elections, to hear about the challenges and the knowledge they have accumulated so far ahead of the vote.

"The only party I know is Likud, because of Benjamin Netanyahu," says Alexia Kochava Maarik, who immigrated to Israel from Paris during the COVID period and has since managed to volunteer for IDF service. "I don't agree with all their decisions, so it's quite hard to choose a party when you don't know what's happening inside, and you don't agree with all the conditions."

Although many of the faces on the party signs are foreign to them, they have no question regarding the essential issues for them in the elections. From the balance between religion and state, female representation in the government, to the need for government public diplomacy, integrity, and unity, they arrive with clear positions and criticisms. "Maybe the selection isn't great, but even the bad has degrees," said Joshua Levy, who immigrated to Israel from London in July last year.

The Israeli divide is evident even before immigration

Beyond understanding the relationships between the various parties and leaders, another challenging task, even for any Israeli who was educated here and has already gone through an election cycle in their life, is understanding the election system in Israel. Mandates (and their limited number compared to other countries), the electoral threshold, the role of the President, and the lack of a constitution.

For example, against the backdrop of the internal tension bubbling in the country even before October 7th, immigrants need to take into account many factors in order to maximize the use of the right to vote granted to them, and to put aside the division of roles familiar to them from their countries of origin.

The divide evident within the government managed to make its way across the sea, even before immigration. According to Simon Donitz, who immigrated with his family from London, his vote will be given to whoever shows a willingness to cooperate with parties located on different sides of the political spectrum. "The different sides, they must work hard to try and understand each other and that way we can reach solutions. We all saw what happens when we are divided," he emphasized. "For me, internal unity is the most important thing."

"Israelis forget that it's really cool to live in Israel," Alexia added on the subject. "As new immigrants, we fought for our rights and to immigrate here, and to learn Hebrew. I believe the state should also trust the international community and new immigrants as representatives of the state, don't make us feel different," she emphasized.

"Welcome to Israel," we concluded. "Just a small question," asked one of the immigrants. "When are the elections? And how do you vote?"