
A bill to allow Israelis abroad to vote in national elections may be brought to the Knesset for legislation – but it may not, because, reports Wednesday said, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was prepared to allow any member of his coalition a veto on the bill.
A source close to Netanyahu said that despite reports Tuesday that the government would advance such a law, the Prime Minister was planning to give permission to any party to oppose the legislation – and if any party did so, the government would not advance the legislation.
Among those said to be opposed to the legislation is prospective Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. In addition, haredi parties Shas and United Torah Jewry are thought to be opposed to the legislation as well, as it would dilute the number of votes they could acquire.
The idea for legislation on the matter has been around for years.
In 2010, then-National Union Chairman MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) said that the idea was “overdue. Citizens of almost all western countries are able to vote when they are abroad, and that right does not expire and is not limited to a specific group of citizens,” Katz said. “If the U.S. and Britain can do it, why not Israel?