The overseas X factor that could swing Israel’s election

Yair Rosenberg, Debra Kamin and Gabby SobelmanIsraeli citizens abroad are flying home to vote in the Oct 27 election, driven by anger after Oct 7 and fear over Netanyahu’s government.Their votes could matter in a very close race, as polls show a dead heat and Israel’s system can turn small shifts into big seat gains.Most overseas voters are likely to back the opposition, but some still support Netanyahu; both sides are fighting over turnout and flight support.Bar Luzon, an Israeli citizen living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, never considered herself “a political person”.An assistant professor of linguistics and philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she had not voted in an Israeli election since she came to the United States for graduate school eight years ago.Get unlimited access to exclusive stories and incisive insights from the ST newsroom