Likud threatens legal action over subsidized flights bringing Israelis home to vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has sent a formal warning letter threatening legal action against the AID Coalition, a nonprofit organization operating the “Fly & Vote” initiative. The program provides subsidies for Israelis living abroad to return home and cast their ballots in the upcoming election. Ilan Bombach, an attorney for Likud, argues that providing such financial benefits could constitute criminal election bribery and a violation of Israel’s Party Financing Law. The party has demanded that the nonprofit take its website offline and cease distributing what it describes as benefits to voters. The AID Coalition has rejected these allegations, maintaining that the project is strictly nonpartisan and designed solely to encourage voter turnout. The organization stated that it does not inquire about the political preferences of participants, arguing that there is no basis for claims of vote-buying. The dispute emerges amid growing public debate over whether citizens living abroad should influence an election that primarily impacts those residing in Israel. Likud had previously appealed to the Central Elections Committee regarding a separate initiative that offered free accommodation to voters arriving from abroad, labeling it an improper benefit.