More than 100 Israelis employed at diplomatic missions or other institutions here protested angrily Tuesday against the denial of their right to vote.
They did so by staging a mock election that followed to the letter the rules observed by their fellow Israelis who cast ballots at home Tuesday for the 12th Knesset.
Israel has no absentee ballots. Its citizens living abroad, including diplomats, businessmen, journalists, students and tourists, forfeit the right to vote.
The only exception is Israeli seafarers aboard merchant ships far from home, who are allowed to cast ballots in advance which are flown to Israel in time for the counting.
The mock vote here was held at a private home. The expatriates, voting by secret ballot, could choose from any one of the 27 parties running in this year’s Knesset elections. The results will be announced here only after the official results are announced in Israel.
The organizers said they want to call attention to the fact that emissaries of Israel serving abroad have been deprived of a basic right of citizenship — choosing the country’s leaders.
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