Activists urge voters returning to Israel to save emergency hotline numbers in case of arrest

A group linked to the protest movement told Israelis flying in to vote to print its hotline numbers and keep them in their passports in case police detain them and take their phones.

The Detainee Support Network (Ma’arach Otef Atzurim), a group identified with Israel’s protest movement, has circulated a message urging Israelis flying in from abroad to vote to save the numbers of a special emergency hotline in case police arrest or detain them when they land.

“Coming to Israel to vote? Save these numbers,” read the message, which was shared in WhatsApp groups. It went on to instruct travelers to print out the phone numbers and keep them in their passports in case police take their phones.

“Were you detained or arrested by the border police or the Israel Police at Ben-Gurion Airport, on landing, at the polling station on Election Day, or even after the election? Contact the Detainee Support Network immediately,” the message said.

Citizens fear police may arrest prospective voters 'because they can'

We spoke with a representative of the network to understand what is behind the unusual concern. Asked why police would arrest citizens coming to vote, she replied: “Because they can. It hasn’t happened in elections so far, but we want to be on the safe side.”

Asked on what grounds voters could be arrested, she said: “It could be all sorts of things – a post you wrote. They’re not happy with all the people coming back to the country. They can detain you and take you to the station. Such things have been known to happen.”

She said the concern is that travelers could be arrested or detained because they plan to vote for parties in the opposition. However, she acknowledged that there have been no unusual incidents so far: “Everything has gone smoothly in recent days, and I assume it will continue to go smoothly.”

The group stresses that this is advance preparation for any possible scenario. “We’ve prepared for every scenario. Everything is fine. I’m sure the police will do their job properly,” the representative said.