Posted on 10/18/2004 3:46:25 PM PDT by veronica
Election day came early for some American citizens living in Israel.
Several dozen Americans gathered in a Tel Aviv apartment on Sunday to fill out their absentee ballots in a presidential election that is as hotly contested among partisans in Israel, as is the main battlefield in the United States.
Laura Goldman decorated her living room with blue balloons for the Democrat-sponsored event. She put a mock ballot box prominently in the middle, where voters could place their completed ballots for delivery to the US Embassy.
"I want to make it as easy as possible for people to vote," said Goldman, 46, an investment adviser from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "It's my civic duty."
The Middle East is a main issue in the contest between US President George W. Bush and challenger John Kerry, with the war in Iraq dominating foreign policy discussions.
Israel is playing less of a role as a campaign issue, but since the United States is Israel's main ally - sometimes its only one - a close US presidential election has a clear ripple effect across the ocean.
More than double the number of expatriate Americans have registered to vote with absentee ballots, compared to the 2000 election - 30,000 compared to 14,000, according to Mark Zober, 59, head of Democrats Abroad in Israel.
With an estimated 100,000-150,000 US citizens living in Israel, the percentage of registered expatriate voters is one of the highest in the world.
Activists say the jump in absentee voting is a worldwide phenomenon, and statehouses across the United States have been inundated with applications - so many that some voters won't get their ballots in time.
Advertising voting events across the country in English-language Israeli newspapers, organizers told potential voters that they could still vote.
They're offering the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), which is used in the event that a voter's state ballot doesn't arrive in time.
"The demand for the FWAB is extremely high, since not everyone has received their state ballot in the mail," said Kory Bardash, head of Republicans Abroad Israel.
The Republicans are hosting their own voting events in many places around the country, and organizers say both parties will pick up the pace as the election approaches.
The sharp differences dividing the US electorate, reflected among voters in Israel, has heightened interest here, said Hadass Tesher, 34, originally from Chicago, Illinois, a volunteer for the Democrats.
"I think people have learned the lesson of how important every vote is, that every vote counts," she said. "This year we are seeing unprecedented activity from around the world, with many first-time voters and voters who have not voted for many years feeling compelled to vote in this year's election."
Not all the local voters said they were casting ballots based on Mideast policy. For Rachel Spitz, 28, originally from Ohio, how the United States looks is more important.
"Living overseas, we see how non-Americans view Americans, and how that view has changed for the worse," she said. "And if more Americans could see the international perspective up close, then perhaps they would change their perspective on how to vote."
Oh Crappy... Moveon.org put the ballots in the wrong mail bag....
how can anyone living in Israel vote for Kerry? shakes head, people need to educate themselves better on policies held by the candidates. If these people had bothered they would see that with Kerry as president Israel will burden itself with many more problems.
WOW! Seems like we are going to have a MASSIVE voter turn out and absentee ballots too...should we be worried??
Israelis are for Bush by a wide margin.
Israel Jews are for Bush I think 51%-24% in the most recent poll.
I understand that many states' absentee ballots are being delayed because of the Democrats' last-minute lawsuits filed to keep Ralph Nader off of the state ballot.
Since Israeli-Americans are able to vote on FWABs, why can't the government send FWABs to the military, instead of waiting for the state ballots to be available?
Boy wouldn't it be something if the Jewish community from Israel were the voting block that carried W over the margin of voter fraud in Nov.! God bless W with a Victory!
Dual Citizenship is UN American
imo
51% to 24%. I will not feel sorry for those 24% + 25% undecided if Kerry is elected. But I will feel for those 51% that get it!
Can we bring them over here?
Interesting choice of words, considering the stakes.
This article has nothing to do with dual citizenship - it talks about Americans living and voting from abroad.
Rejoice. Israelis support Bush in a landslide. Let's hope Kerry's lawyers don't try to dispute all their ballots.
Someone living in Israel who votes for Kerry is basically saying, "please, take my land, and implement a defense policy that threatens my life."
And the 25% who are undecided are saying let's see which way the wind is blowing!
They voted for Barak, didn't they? I will never understand what causes any Jew to vote for a party that would sell them out in exchange for a wet kiss from Arafat.
I believe that the days when Israelis vote for Labour are over, for now anyway. The intifada changed the minds of many pro-Oslo "Peace Now" types in Israel.
I believe I read somewheres that some 20,000 of the absentee ballots from Israel are from folks registered in Florida...that's why it's important..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.