Diaspora

More than 23,000 antisemitic incidents were documented in 2025 in the world's largest Jewish communities, and the connection to Israel is becoming increasingly acute. It is time for the election campaign to also address the question of what Israel's responsibility is toward the millions of Jews living outside its borders.

In Israel, unlike most Western countries, only those physically present in the country on election day are allowed to vote, with the exception of a small group of public officials. Ahead of the upcoming election cycle, a debate is emerging over organized flights bringing Israelis from abroad to vote, and whether this constitutes illegal election financing. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel...

Minister Shlomo Karhi called on citizens living abroad to refrain from coming to Israel to vote in the elections, claiming the left is "trying to bring in masses." Israelis living abroad responded with sharp criticism, emphasizing their deep connection to the country and their sense of responsibility for its future.

Decisions made in Israel affect not only its citizens, but also millions of Jews around the world, while Israel still does not allow its citizens to vote from abroad. If Israel is the national home of the Jewish people, it is time to open the ballot boxes first to every Israeli citizen wherever they are, and later to the Jews of the Diaspora.

The debate surrounding the wave of emigration from Israel focuses mainly on numbers, but hundreds of thousands of Israelis are already living overseas. The truly great challenge begins with their children: how to preserve the connection to Israel, to Judaism, and to the community before it fades away?

Israelis living overseas report that all systems for verifying voting eligibility have crashed, just one day before the deadline for registration. Citizens fear arriving in Israel only to find they have been removed from the voter registry: "We pay National Insurance and cannot exercise our right." Ministry of Interior: We are aware of the problem and are considering extending the deadlines.

The Jewish community task force presents data for 2025, which is shaping up to be the most violent year since the 1994 attack in Argentina. 23,000 incidents were documented in the seven major countries. The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League called on governments to act in advance.