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November 2012/Kislev 5773
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In Israel, Thousands of American Expatriate Citizens Will Cast Their Votes for President; Most of Them for Romney Between 50,000 and 70,000
US citizens living in Israel are expected to vote by absentee ballots in this year’s Presidential election. According to Elie Pieprz, director of iVoteIsrael, every day in September and October more than 1,000 of these American expatriates registered to vote. While they reside throughout Israel, many of them live in communities in Judea and Samaria, where a relatively large number of expatriate Americans make their homes. Working with hundreds of volunteers, iVoteIsrael contacted thousands of immigrants to the Jewish state (olim) with dual citizenship who are eligible to vote, and made sure they were registered. There were meetings in synagogues and at sites where classes are held for English-speaking immigrants.
According to Mr. Pieprz, iVoteIsrael volunteers were “massively active” on Facebook, and a new website was established for the November elections. Mr. Pieprz’s goal was to make “things easier for people,” especially this year when many Israelis feel they particularly have a stake in the election. Even though the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued repeated statements explaining that the Jewish state officially considers Republicans and Democrats to be equally supportive of Israel, and therefore will take no position on the US election, polls show that the majority of Israelis are hoping the Republican Mitt Romney is successful. Mr. Pieprz understood that the only way Israelis could help influence the outcome was by
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encouraging the eligible dual citizens among them to vote. “This is the first election year in which there is an organization that reaches out and makes contact with people. We brought the registration forms to them, so that all they have to do is sign, an action that is not time consuming. In addition, we created 100 places throughout Israel where the form can be handed in, so the effort required of each individual is minimal,” he said. It All Counts The ballots will be counted in the states in which the Israeli-Americans last resided or voted. Mr. Pieprz said that while it is easy to understand why it was vital to urge eligible Jews to vote who were from tossup states like Florida, Pennsylvania, or Ohio, it was equally important in states like New York, New Jersey, and California, where polls show President Barack Obama will almost certainly win. “Influential people and politicians in the US must understand that Americans in Israel have power to influence the Jewish community in the US,” he said. If Mr. Pieprz had his way, twice as many American expatriates in Israel would be casting their votes. It is estimated that more than 150,000 Israeli citizens are actually eligible to vote in American elections. Many of them were born in Israel, but are US citizens because their parents were Americans who made aliyah and registered their children’s births with the American embassy. According to Arutz Sheva’s Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, many of these American citizens who are eligible to vote only be-
cause of their parents’ heritage, “have no interest in American politics or do not feel motivated to vote in an election in what they consider a foreign country.” Foreign Affairs Marc Zell, chairman of the Republican Party in Israel, said he was pleased that the debates had shifted voter opinion to Mr. Romney’s campaign. “Before Sept 11, 2012, the American public still thought Obama was excelling in his dealings with foreign policy. But after the attacks on the US Embassy in Benghazi and everything that followed in the Middle East, there is a shift, and the public believes more in Romney,” he said. He did not deny that the economy would still be the most important issue in the election. “But increasingly, Americans are taking an interest in international relations,” he said. Personal Stake Mr. Zell recognized that for the most part, Americans overseas will vote for Mr. Obama. However, he said that in Israel, American voters, including many longtime Democrats, will support Mr. Romney, prompted by Mr. Obama’s perceived lack of a firm position on the nuclear threat posed by Iran and his hardline position against a Jewish presence throughout Jerusalem, including the eastern neighborhoods where the Western Wall is located, as well as all of Judea and Samaria. At the end of October, Israelis eligible to vote in the US election received spiritual motivation from a prominent rabbi. In his column, published by the Hebrew Besheva weekly,