Israel's Election Day is just a month away. It will be the third time Israelis vote in less than a year.
Perhaps this time the results will produce a new government. At this point, I can't blame anyone in Israel for having election fatigue, but I still hope that everyone who is eligible will cast his or her ballot.
Israelis should remember that they live in the only country in the region in which there are free and fair elections. Our neighbors in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority can only dream of being allowed to freely choose their leaders.
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I would love to participate in the upcoming vote myself, but unfortunately, I can't. Why is this? Because although I am an Israeli citizen, I don't live in Israel, nor will I be in the country when the vote takes place.
Unlike many other democracies, Israel does not allow citizens living abroad to vote in its elections unless they are present in the country when the vote takes place.
This is the reason that some Israeli political parties organize trips for their supporters abroad to come to Israel just to vote on Election Day. The only people who get exceptions to this rule are those who work for the government of Israel abroad, such as diplomats. Every other Israeli who lives outside of Israel and doesn't want to hop on a plane and be there on Election Day is out of luck. I think this is unfair.
Many if not most of the Israelis living abroad are people who have paid taxes in Israel, grew up in Israel, and served in the IDF. Here in Canada, I know people who have fought for Israel in multiple wars, who were prepared to sacrifice their very lives for their country and who lost friends and colleagues in Israel's military conflicts. You would think that the least their country could do for them is allow them to vote in national elections, but this is not the case.
There is a legitimate reason why Israel has not extended voting rights to its citizens abroad. It is simply because Israeli citizenship can be obtained by any Jew around the world upon entry into the Jewish state. There is almost no requirement to stay in the country for a certain amount of time, so a Jew who has become an Israeli citizen can go right back to whatever place they came from immediately after receiving citizenship.
If election rules in Israel were similar to other democracies, this same person would be allowed to vote in any future Israeli elections, without paying Israeli taxes, serving in the Israeli military, or doing anything else that would constitute a meaningful contribution to the Jewish state. Most Israelis would probably agree that such a person should not have the right to vote.
But what about Israelis living abroad who have contributed to the country; the ones who paid taxes and served in the IDF? Should Israel exclude them from voting as well? I don't think so. The question then becomes, how would Israel rewrite the election rules so that Israelis abroad who have fulfilled their commitment to the country can vote, but those who have not fulfilled such a commitment are still excluded?
The answer to this question lies in deciding what constitutes fulfilling a commitment to Israel that would justify having the right to vote in the country's elections without being there. I have already mentioned that one aspect of a person's commitment to Israel, or any country for that matter, involves paying taxes there. This alone, however, cannot and should not be used as a litmus test for allowing an Israeli living abroad to vote in national elections. Anyone who lives in, does business in, or even visits Israel pays Israeli taxes, whether they are an Israeli citizen or not.
The best way of determining the voting eligibility of an Israeli citizen living abroad is to find out whether or not a person with Israeli citizenship has fulfilled what many Israelis believe is the ultimate commitment to the country: service in the Israel Defense Forces.
Basically, I am suggesting that an Israeli citizen living abroad should be allowed to vote in their country of residence if they can prove that they have completed Israel's compulsory military service or have been given an exemption from such service.
This requirement will allow Israelis abroad who have served their country to vote in Israeli elections in their countries of residence, but would still exclude Israelis who may just hold citizenship for reasons of convenience or because they are the spouse or offspring of Israeli citizens.
The vast majority of Israelis living in Israel would probably concur that if Israelis want to live abroad and vote in Israeli elections from abroad, then they should at least demonstrate that they have served the country whose future they want to help determine.
