You are either Israeli or you are not. All Israelis must be equal before the Law: Religious and secular, living in Israel or outside, a tsabar or an oleh. The only reason an Israeli should be excluded is that if his or her Zionism is seriously in question…

After living almost ten years outside of Israel, I took upon me to draft a law this July 2024 for the Israelis Abroad to be allowed to vote from Abroad for their Knesset members.

I hold two other passports, and, Israel is the only country for which I have not been able to vote from abroad. Why?

So I drafted a law despite not being a lawmaker and considered by many not being a “true” Israeli because I was not born in Israel. I drafted this law out of frustration and a deep sense of injustice: why should Israelis who live abroad be not be allowed to vote at their parliamentary elections? In the name of security? Sorry, but “no”.

While this law is speculative, it could actually be approved by the Knesset today without extensive work, the skeleton is solid. We could have it approved now, then draft an upgrade later.

Or we seek to make the best and take our time, and, then who knows how long it will take, another fifty years, a century…? Hopefully not.

I believe we can reach close to perfection within a year or two.

I’ve also launched an online petition and have been campaigning to convince some hundred members of the 25th Knesset to enact such law based on the draft I’ve sent them.

I’ve sent the draft proposal to tens of Zionist and Jewish organizations worldwide for them to also advocate and push the lawmakers to get out of the status quo on this issue and finally agree to enact a law that will allow Israelis established outside of Israel to vote for their representatives.

These are the 7 main reasons why a law on the Israelis Abroad and the Jews of the Diaspora is urgently needed:

1. In the aftermath of October 7th, an unprecedented rise of antisemitism and antizionism, between 150% and close to 600% depending on locations, has surfaced from the shadows. The millennia old hate for Jews has finally reached an unprecedented level of absence of inhibition, beyond reason and control. While many Jewish and Zionist organizations have been campaigning to counter the “hate and genocidal narrative” spread globally by the Muslim Brotherhood, Jews remain uncoordinated and to some degree, isolated and insufficiently united to combat for the survival of the State of Israel but quite simply, the survival of Am Israel, the Jewish People.

2. Am Israel is divided between the Left and the Right, inside and outside of Israel: there is an absolutely urgent need for unity, not behind a prime minister or president or a person, but behind the recognition of the existence of a Jewish people that, despite its political divergences and disagreements must unite now with Zionism and the State of Israel as the uniting epicenter and core! There is the urgent need to coordinate an international long-term policy, strategy and action plan against antisemitism and antizionism, and having a law will unify outside the Zionist or religious or political organizations, and organize unity. “Stronger together, Divided we fall” is an alert and a call for action that applies more than ever.

3. there is a legislative vacuum that must be filled. These statuses of the Israeli established outside Israel, the Jews of the Diaspora, and the Parliament and it Parliamentarians of the Diaspora do not exist. After 76 years of existence and the Kingdom of Israel before it, the State of Israel has reached the sufficient maturity and confidence to understand that the Israelis living abroad are an asset and an integral part of Israel that must not be lost in the jungle of the Nations, and that they must be put to contribution, be it for political campaign or security reporting or organizing social and cultural events.

4. Israel needs the manpower, the lobbying and the fundraising of the Israelis Abroad and the Jew of the Diaspora. Thirty percent of Israel’s economy is dependent on the tech startup economy and ecosystem which is highly dependent on the stock markets, the support of American Jews and the Jews of the Diaspora. The “Startup Nation” is funded by foreign direct investors who are mostly Jews and Zionist Jews. Would it not be about time to recognize beyond just a “Thank you” to reward these Jews who have given not only their time, their skills, knowledge, know-how, experience, industry and funds for the success of Israelis and Israel?

5. To those, politicians or just citizens who will say that we are at war, that we are busy fighting this war, that there is no time for that, and we have better things to do, I say to them simply: there will never be a good time to solve this problem, to draft a law for the Israelis Abroad.

6. To those who will say that “this law poses a security problem”, I say please read carefully this law and the new and innovative security procedures it is putting in place; these new security procedures can be improved by the lawmakers, and legal professionals who will work on improving the draft; this is a base and a work in progress, not the final draft in any way. I believe it still needs more work to simplify and clarify, but this is a matter of time, and, as a volunteer on this project, there is only so much I can do. This also needs to be a collective project, not just of Israeli’s elected lawmakers, not just of the Israeli citizens, but truly of Am Israel globally.

7. To those who will say that “the internet or mobile application voting is not secure, dangerous and poses national security breaches threats”, I believe that I have demonstrated in the articles on the procedures to secure voting through internet or the mobile or through in-person proxies that it can be done; and, that the only obstacle is a cultural, psychological and a political problem; not a security problem.
With such first draft, I believe everyone can make a great job.
I hope that the contribution of all, the elected lawmakers, the legal experts, the Israeli citizens and the Jews of the Diaspora will contribute to make this law as comprehensive and solid as it could be and as Am Israel needs it to be.
Finally, Israelis Abroad will be allowed to vote from wherever they have established themselves on this planet or/and even become one of these Member of Knesset of the Israelis abroad!

My job is finished as drafter; now it is your turn to take action, in two possible ways:

1. You can simply become a supporter, a signatory, by signing the online petition at change.org by creating an account. The more Israelis and Diaspora Jews sign it, the fastest this law will come into force. Your name on your change.org account must be spelled the same as on your ID from any country; your name does not have to be published publicly, it can be anonymous.

2. You can contact the member of Knesset with this brief on the 7 reasons why a law on the Israelis Abroad is needed, edit and personalize to your liking, and, petition, support this law proposal:
https://www.change.org/advocate-for-a-law-of-Israelis-Abroad-and-Diaspora-Jews
https://chng.it/PsGR2WhNpW
Once again, this is and must be a collective project of Am Israel, not one of political factions, but all Am Israel.
Am Israel Chai!
Frederic Eger
***
The Global Rise in Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism Since October 7, 2023 (Some elements of the research)
According to the 2023 Antisemitism Worldwide Report released on May 5, 2024 by the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University (https://english.tau.ac.il/news/antisemitism-report-2024; Direct link to the report: http://cst.tau.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AntisemitismWorldwide_2023_Final.pdf), there has been an unprecedented surge in global antisemitism following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israeli civilians. Some key statistics on the rise of antisemitism since October 7, 2023:
In the United States, the Anti-Defamation League recorded a 337% increase in antisemitic incidents between October 7, 2023 and January 7, 2024 compared to the same period the prior year.
*France saw a staggering rise from 436 antisemitic incidents in all of 2022 to 1,676 in 2023.
*The United Kingdom experienced a near quadrupling of antisemitic incidents, from 1,662 in 2022 to 4,103 in 2023.
*Germany saw a significant increase in politically motivated antisemitic crimes, rising from 2,639 in 2022 to 3,614 in 2023.
*Australia recorded a 591% increase in antisemitic incidents since October 7, 2023.
*In Switzerland, antisemitic incidents associated with Israel’s war against Hamas in October 2023 manifested in physical assaults, offensive graffiti, verbal abuse, and antisemitic demonstrations. The number of real-world incidents almost tripled from 57 in 2022 to 155 in 2023, with the vast majority occurring after October 7.

Globally, the 2023 Antisemitism Worldwide Report serves as a stark warning about the resurgence of Jew-hatred in the 21st century, with dramatic increases in antisemitic incidents compared to 2022 even in the months preceding the October 7 attack, indicating an already worsening situation.

Sincere thanks to the courageous petition signatories!