Israel Matzav

Update: Whether to give Israelis abroad the right to vote

You will recall that there was recently a proposal to allow Israelis who live abroad to vote. I discussed it here and here. Allison Kaplan Sommer has an update.

The proposal has not been completely without defenders. Some contend that a small and vulnerable country such as Israel can only benefit from having supportive citizens living around the world. Preserving the sense of belonging among those who live abroad, many of whom served in the army in their youth, can only be to Israel’s advantage and increase the chances that they — or their children — might someday choose to return to live in Israel.

But the pitfalls are substantial. With Israel’s fast path to citizenship owing to the Law of Return, theoretically large numbers of Jews living abroad could strategically move to Israel short-term, take up their voting rights, and return to their homes overseas with a license to vote en masse.

The irony in the situation is that from an idealogical standpoint, the natural position for the nationalist and patriotic right — the Lieberman-Netanyahu camp — would be to oppose those living overseas voting, not to propose it. One doesn’t have to be too cynical to understand that self-interest plays a role in the right’s advocacy of overseas voting. The end result of overseas voting would be increased support for the further right and more religious parties. Even if the vast majority of Israeli citizens living abroad don’t necessarily hold right-wing views, those who would be motivated to take the time and trouble to make it to the polls would be the populations of Orthodox Jews living in large cities.

For the same reason, the more international and global centrist and left-wing parties, who enjoy their prolonged stays in Paris, Cambridge, and Silicon Valley and should more naturally be cheerleading the idea of voting from abroad, are opposing it.

As you may recall, I oppose the idea of allowing absentee ballots in Israeli elections. I have a few more comments.

First, the devious notion of Orthodox Jews from abroad registering briefly for citizenship here so that they could gain the right to vote never occurred to me. It could be checked - in part anyway - by making registration to vote a trigger for starting oleh (immigrant) rights ticking and abolishing the notion that they are suspended during any extended period of time you spend abroad. But in any event, I don't see so many Orthodox Jews signing up.

What I do see is Leftist former Israelis living and working abroad feeling 'shame' over Israel's actions and voting out Right wing governments that are aggressive in the country's defense. Think Noam Chomsky, Avraham Burg and others now residing abroad who hate what this country stands for with a passion.

Besides, ideologically I cannot square the notion of a right to vote without the obligation to (at least) pay taxes. Like Allison I still vote in the US, and I also file a US tax return every year. If one day I actually earn some money, I might actually be liable for US taxes. Unlike Israelis living abroad who don't pay taxes here.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:53 PM