NEW YORK, May 3 (JTA) — Yael Cohen went home to Israel a few months ago — and she was dismayed by what she saw. “People were so depressed,” she says. “People are so noisy usually and they’re not now.” So when Cohen, a 24-year-old Tel Aviv native who has been living in New York for a year, heard that the KesherUSA organization was providing tickets at a steep discount to Israeli citizens wishing to fly home for the May 17 elections, she took them up on their offer. Cohen, who says she hasn’t decided how to vote but sees the economy as the most important issue, is one of thousands of Jews living in North America who are taking advantage of the cut-rate tickets. “The history of this is that there has long been a belief in Israel that thousands and thousands of conservative and right-wing Americans who are Israeli citizens come to Israel to vote in elections,” says Steve Rabinowitz, a media consultant working for the campaign of Labor Party candidate Ehud Barak. Indeed, when Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister in 1996 by less than a percentage point — roughly 50.4 percent to 49.5 percent for his Labor challenger, Shimon Peres — some observers believed that Israelis living abroad who were flown in by groups supporting Netanyahu made the crucial difference. Unlike many other countries, Israel has no absentee balloting. A group sympathetic to the prime minister’s hawkish views, Chai L’Yisrael, is again bringing in voters at the bargain price of $180. But Chai L’Yisrael is being countered by Kesher, a group that opposes Netanyahu. Some 7,000 people have applied for the flights offered through the Brooklyn- based Chai L’Yisrael, according to a source with the organization who asked not to be identified. The group, which is closely aligned with Israel’s right wing, expects, after screening, to send about 3,000 of these voters from North America and France. The group, which has raised $500,000 so far, is supported by private individuals and has the backing of right-wing politicians in the United States, including New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind. In a recent article in the Jewish Press newspaper, Hikind wrote, “Urge your friends, neighbors and relatives to participate in this massive drive to keep Israel Jewish and secure. “We cannot ignore the virulent anti-Orthodox rhetoric spewing forth from the Labor camp.” It’s an appeal that resonated with Victor Na’ar, a 27-year-old American who made aliyah in 1994. After serving in the army, he moved back to the United States at the end of 1996, but hopes to return someday. Na’ar, like other potential voters, sees this election as a critical one. The political process launched by the Oslo accords is at a crossroads, he says. “There’s either going to be a Palestinian state or not. I don’t believe in a Palestinian state, and that’s why I’m voting,” he says, adding that the idea of taking the future of Jerusalem “off the negotiating table” particularly motivates him. Chai L’Yisrael has come under attack in Israel for its ties to the West Bank settler movement. An article in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot last week charged that settler groups in Israel working with Chai L’Yisrael are screening candidates not only to make sure applicants are eligible to vote, but to examine the applicants’ political beliefs. The group is reportedly turning down applicants who might vote for left-wing parties. The Chai L’Yisrael source said it is acting in accordance with the law, adding that the group is “not UJA running a charity.” Chai L’Yisrael is being countered this time around by Kesher, which is supported by donations from liberal individuals and organizations, including the Philadelphia-based Shefa Fund. Kesher was formed by Udi Behr, a 38-year-old jewelry designer who has lived in New York for 15 years. Behr, a political novice, said the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995 “woke me up to the very tough reality.” Rabin, he says, did a “lot of wonderful things for Israel. He created a lot of opportunity, a lot of hope. And then we lost a lot of hope.” Behr predicts that Kesher will fly between 3,000 and 5,000 voters from across North America to Israel. The flights will cost $349 for students, and $450 for everybody else. Not everyone believes that the money is well spent. One person close to the elections called the campaigns to fly the voters home “expensive bumper stickers.” But in a tight election where U.S. influence is high — Israeli parties are using American political consultants — this view appears to be in the minority. “In the ‘67 war and the ‘73 war, there were Israelis who came back to fight the war. I think this election is a war to decide the future of Israel,” Behr says. The war between the two groups extends as far as their analysis of which round of voting will be decisive. After some wavering, Chai L’Yisrael — counting on widespread reports that Center Party prime ministerial candidate Yitzhak Mordechai will drop out of the running — is sending its cadre of voters for the May 17 first round. Kesher believes that Mordechai, who has stated as recently as Sunday that he will not drop out of the running before then, will be true to his word: It is sending its group of transplanted Israelis for the June runoff that will occur if no candidate earns 50 percent of the vote in May. Kesher is sending its voters on regular El Al flights, while Chai L’Yisrael is using regular El Al flights, chartered flights as well as other airlines. If the main purpose of the trips is to bring those with Israeli passports over to participate in the democratic process, it’s also tapping into a reservoir of feeling for the Jewish state — even for those who are living abroad to escape its pressures. “I didn’t expect that I would” fly back to Israel to vote, says 31-year-old journalist Ranan Shaked. “I didn’t know that I would care this much. It’s a bit of a surprise.”
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