The Australians flying 14,000km to cast a ballot

Sydney tech entrepreneur Ayal Steiner booked his flights to Israel “the minute the election was called”. So did his brother and two of his friends, all of them heading back to vote in the poll on October 27.

“It’s the first time that I’m making the special effort to visit Israel while the election was there,” said Steiner, who was born in Israel 50 years ago and moved to Australia 17 years ago. “It was important for me to participate in the democratic process.”

He is not alone. Among Israelis in Australia, this election has generated a pull strong enough to justify the expense and the 20-odd hours in the air — and Steiner says the diaspora vote could end up being worth one or two Knesset seats.

What makes this election different, he said, is the sense that Israel is at a hinge point.

“Everyone understands that the country is in a very different situation than it was three years ago, both in terms of its internal challenges, national challenges, and global perception,” he said. “The discussion amongst Israelis is that these are the most critical elections since the country was founded, and I tend to agree.”