US voters in Israel

Activists jostle for US votes in Israel

Republican and Democratic Party activists in Israel have battled down to the wire in the belief that the Jewish state's 100,000 eligible US voters could make the difference in today's presidential poll.

The Israeli branches of both parties agree that the number of absentee ballots cast in Israel this year is likely to be double the 14,000 cast in 2000. They sharply differ, however, on who those votes will favour.

"If people here like the benign neglect of George Bush and don't want to be pushed into concessions for peace they will vote for Bush," Mr Zober said. "If you are Likud or an orthodox Jew here you'll definitely consider voting for Bush - that's about 30 per cent of the Americans living here. But if you go to Tel Aviv or Haifa you'll find that most Americans are voting for Kerry."

Article goes on to say that the Republicans have added 10,000 new registered voters and the Democrats 20,000. With such a close race, these votes could help decide.