An American charity registered to a private home in suburban Philadelphia distributed $20.4 million in grants in 2024 — its second year of existence. One grantee. One block transfer. No public disclosure of donors. No outlet has reported the money behind Fly & Vote until now.
The Largest Diaspora Voter Operation in Israeli History
An American charity called AID Coalition wants to fly 70,000 Israeli citizens home to vote in the October 27 Knesset election. Israel does not allow absentee voting — if you want to cast a ballot, you have to physically be in the country. AID Coalition's initiative, called Fly & Vote, organizes the logistics: a voter eligibility verification platform, charter flight coordination, partnerships with travel agencies in Israel and abroad, a volunteer network that includes former Israel Airports Authority officials, a legal hotline for Election Day, and 20 paid staff.
Over 25,000 Israelis abroad have registered. Several thousand have paid a $75 commitment deposit — called "דמי רצינות" (seriousness money) in the Hebrew materials. On the Israel side, representatives will meet arriving voters at Ben Gurion Airport, coordinate transfers to housing, operate real-time support centers, and staff a legal assistance line through Election Day (Haaretz, August 16, 2026).
AID Coalition spokesperson Michal Dagon told Haaretz the target is 50,000 to 70,000 voters. She noted that Israelis who have lived abroad for years — even those who have disconnected their Israeli tax residency — remain on the voter rolls and are eligible to vote. That means Fly & Vote is not only reaching recent emigrants. It is reaching deep-diaspora Israelis who may not have voted in Israeli elections for a decade or more.
The organization says it is nonpartisan and does not subsidize flights. It also says it emerged from the 2023 anti-judicial-overhaul protest movement — a movement whose participants overwhelmingly oppose the current government. Haaretz, in the first English-language article about the organization in September 2023, described it as "the only U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated exclusively to raising funds for the Israeli pro-democracy movement."
Founder Jonathan Barsade, speaking at the Calcalist and Bank Leumi Mind the Tech New York 2026 conference in May, said: "The moment elections are announced there will be a stampede for flight tickets." He added that if commercial flights fill up, "we will provide charter flights... to make it easier for them to get to Israel and participate in the elections." He called Israel "probably one of the only democracies in the world that doesn't actually allow its citizens to vote outside the country."
TheMarker ran a feature on July 15 headlined "Bringing 70,000 Israelis from abroad to elections: The initiative that frightens the government." It opened with Adam Rosenberg, an Israeli living in London for 13 years: "This is the first time we'll come to vote in Israel... These are the most fateful elections in Israel's history." The piece described flight prices to Israel surging for late October.
The political controversy has been covered widely. No outlet — in any language — has reported on the money: how much, from whom, and where it goes.
How Much Money Is Behind the Fly & Vote Operation
AID Coalition is formally the America Israel Democracy Coalition — a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 93-1616002, registered to the private home of its founder in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Incorporated in 2023.
Its IRS Form 990 filings, as parsed by Instrumentl:
| Fiscal Year | Grants Distributed | Grantees | Total Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $3,064,032 | 1 | $3,616,696 |
| 2024 | $20,412,332 | 1 | $5,554,511 |
$23.5 million distributed in two fiscal years. One grantee each year. Every dollar went as a single block transfer to one recipient.
Barsade told the Jerusalem Post in April 2025 the organization "invested almost $35 million" across "more than 100 social projects" in Ofakim, Sderot, and for displaced families.
For context: $20.4 million in grants from a two-year-old charity registered to a private home exceeds the annual grantmaking of most established single-issue American Jewish organizations.
No Israeli or English-language outlet has reported on these filings.
Where Does the Money Go When Israelis Fly Home to Vote
The single grantee is named on Schedule I of the Form 990. As of this writing, ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer has not indexed the filing, and the name sits behind Instrumentl's subscriber paywall.
The recipient is almost certainly an Israeli amuta — a nonprofit association registered with Israel's Rasham HaAmutot (Registrar of Associations). Three things point to this: the 990 includes Schedule F (the IRS form required when an organization conducts activities or makes grants outside the United States); the organization's published funding policy states that "The America-Israel Democracy Coalition will transfer funds subject to U.S. and Israeli law" to "receiving organizations" in Israel; and Barsade's own description of the money going to projects in Ofakim and Sderot — cities in southern Israel.
Israeli amuta financial filings are public records. Once the grantee is identified, the downstream distribution — how $20.4 million was allocated across the "100+ social projects" Barsade described — will be traceable through Israeli public filings.
Under IRC Section 6104(d), any 501(c)(3) must provide its Form 990 to anyone who requests it in writing, within 30 days. Olam has submitted that request.
Who Funds the Fly & Vote Operation to Return Israeli Voters
AID Coalition has not named its donors. When eJewishPhilanthropy asked the organization directly — in the most detailed English-language report on Fly & Vote, published August 13, 2026 — AID Coalition declined, saying only that its donors were "a mix of Israeli, American and international."
That is the only on-record statement about the organization's funding sources. No other outlet has obtained more.
The 501(c)(3) structure requires donor names to be filed with the IRS on Schedule B, but that schedule is redacted from the publicly available version of the 990. AID Coalition's donation page also solicits contributions through Donor Advised Funds — the standard vehicle in American philanthropy for donors who wish to give anonymously. The page instructs DAF donors to "consult with your DAF advisor" and accepts checks and wire transfers.
A search of publicly available 990 filings from major DAF sponsors and foundations turned up no grants to "America Israel Democracy Coalition." The donor base remains undisclosed.
Who Runs the Organization Flying Israelis Home to Vote
Three officers appear on the organization's IRS filings. Two are former Israeli naval officers. All three are Israeli-American.
Jonathan Barsade — President, Treasurer, and Secretary. The charity is registered to his home in Wynnewood, PA. Barsade is an Israeli-American entrepreneur who founded Exactor, a cloud-based sales tax compliance platform. He built the company over a decade from suburban Philadelphia. Intuit acquired Exactor in October 2017 to integrate into QuickBooks Online. After the exit, Barsade moved into Jewish nonprofit leadership. He became president of the America Israel Friendship League — the bipartisan U.S.-Israel organization founded in 1971 by Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Senators Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Nelson Rockefeller, and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph. He joined the U.S. and Israeli boards of IsraAID. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. His late wife, Sigal Barsade, was the Joseph Frank Bernstein Professor of Management at the Wharton School; she died of cancer in February 2022. He co-founded AID Coalition in the summer of 2023. He has no public record of significant U.S. political donations.
Batell Blaish-Sultanik — CEO. Former IDF naval officer — deputy commander of a missile vessel, first female airborne naval officer, major in the reserves. In July 2023 she signed the Brothers in Arms reservist letter, the public declaration by hundreds of IDF officers threatening to refuse reserve duty over the judicial overhaul. In civilian life she is chief business officer at BeeHero, an Israeli ag-tech startup. She spoke at the 2026 Jerusalem Post Conference.
Ora Peled Nakash — Director. First woman to graduate the Israeli Naval Officer Academy's Course Hovlim (2000). First woman to serve on a Sa'ar 4.5 missile ship. Board member of the Naval Academy Alumni Organization. Member of Forum Dvorah, the Israeli network for women in foreign policy and national security. Described on AID Coalition's website as "a leading member of the Protest Movement in Israel."
Michal Dagon — not listed on the IRS filings but serves as AID Coalition's operational spokesperson in Israeli media (Haaretz, August 16, 2026).
The Network Behind Israelis Returning to Vote: AID Coalition's World Zionist Congress Slate
AID Coalition ran a 190-candidate slate — Slate #14 — in the 2025 World Zionist Congress elections. The WZC controls the allocation of over $1 billion annually through Zionist institutions. AID Coalition's platform called for transparency, opposition to "extremism of all kinds," and ensuring Zionist resources support "education, community building, and pluralistic Jewish life — rather than political patronage" (Israel Hayom, February 18, 2025).
The slate won 4,844 votes and three delegates — a small share of the 155 U.S. seats. The right-wing and religious bloc secured a majority of the American delegation for the first time.
The slate roster, published by the American Zionist Movement, reveals the network behind the organization:
#3 — Jeremy Levin. Former CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries — Israel's largest company. Oxford and Cambridge educated. Previously on the executive committee of Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he created the "String of Pearls" acquisition strategy. Recruited to lead Teva in 2012 by President Shimon Peres. Forced out in October 2013. Currently chairman and CEO of Ovid Therapeutics. Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Urged Israelis abroad to fly home and vote (Jerusalem Post, May 2026). Endorsed Kamala Harris (Forward, October 2024).
#6 — Tali Reiner Brodetzki. An Israeli living in the Philadelphia area who told eJewishPhilanthropy she is "flying home to vote for the first time, specifically to oust the current coalition."
#20 — Judy Mozes. Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes — daughter of Noah Mozes, the late publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, and sister of Arnon "Noni" Mozes, the newspaper's current publisher and controlling owner. Arnon Mozes is the central figure in Case 2000, the criminal investigation into an alleged quid pro quo between Mozes and Benjamin Netanyahu. Judy Mozes was previously married to Silvan Shalom, a Likud minister who served as Foreign Minister and Interior Minister. Before that she was married to Amiram Nir, the National Security Advisor under Shimon Peres, who was killed in a plane crash in 1988. Her presence on this slate has not been previously reported.
#34 — Seth Fisher. Founder and chief investment officer of Oasis Management, a Hong Kong-based activist hedge fund managing approximately $14 billion in assets. Yeshiva University graduate. IDF veteran. Has run high-profile shareholder activism campaigns at Japanese companies including Nintendo, Tokyo Dome, and Fujitec.
The slate also includes Aviv Lazar (#4), Assi Berman Dayan (#5), Ron Teicher (#35), and Sharon Shafrir (#21). Barsade told Israel Hayom the slate drew from "around 20 groups representing the Israeli high-tech community in the US."
Likud's Legal Challenge to the Fly & Vote Israeli Voter Return Operation
Likud argues AID Coalition's operations violate Israeli election law. Attorney Ilan Bombach's August 17 warning letter alleges the initiative subsidizes flights for voters — which AID Coalition denies — and constitutes election bribery under Israeli law (Ynet, Jerusalem Post). A previous Likud letter in May made similar demands.
AID Coalition's Hebrew-language website states: "The initiative does not fund participants' costs in any way. Travel costs will be paid by each participant."
Separately, officials in Transportation Minister Miri Regev's office discussed ways to limit charter flights into Ben Gurion Airport before Election Day. Likud also petitioned the Central Elections Committee to prohibit Israelis from freely hosting incoming voters.
An Israel Democracy Institute poll found that 70% of Israelis believe the integrity of the 2026 election is in danger.
Three Unanswered Questions About the Fly & Vote Funding
Where does the $20.4 million go? One grantee received the entire 2024 output. The name is on Schedule I of the Form 990. Once identified, the Israeli amuta's own financial filings — public under Israeli law — will map exactly how the money was distributed downstream.
Who are the donors funding Israelis returning to vote? Schedule B is filed with the IRS but redacted from the public version of the 990. If major foundations or DAF sponsors sent grants, those would appear on the sponsors' own 990 filings. No one has cross-referenced them.
How do four distinct programs run through one (c)(3)? Since 2023, AID Coalition has operated as an anti-overhaul protest fundraiser, an October 7 relief organization, a World Zionist Congress political slate, and now an Israeli election voter-mobilization operation — all under the same tax-exempt entity.
The answers are in the paperwork.
What You Need to Know About Israelis Returning to Vote in the 2026 Election
What is AID Coalition? The America Israel Democracy Coalition, a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2023. It operates Fly & Vote, the initiative to help Israeli citizens living abroad return to Israel to vote in the October 27 election.
Who founded it? Jonathan Barsade, an Israeli-American tech entrepreneur based in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
How much money has it distributed? $23.5 million in grants over two fiscal years (2023 and 2024), according to IRS Form 990 data. Barsade has claimed the organization has invested "almost $35 million" total.
Who received the money? One grantee each year — a single block transfer. The name appears on the 990's Schedule I but has not been publicly reported. Olam has requested the filing.
Who are the donors? Undisclosed. AID Coalition told eJewishPhilanthropy its donors are "a mix of Israeli, American and international."
Does AID Coalition pay for flights? The organization says no. Likud's attorney says the operation may amount to election bribery. AID Coalition's Hebrew website states: "The initiative does not fund participants' costs in any way."
Is the organization partisan? AID Coalition says it is nonpartisan and does not screen voters' political preferences. It emerged from the anti-judicial-overhaul protest movement in 2023, and one of its WZC slate members has publicly stated she is voting "to oust the current coalition."
Who is eligible to fly back and vote? Any Israeli citizen whose name appears on the voter roll — including Israelis who have lived abroad for years and disconnected their tax residency, according to AID Coalition spokesperson Michal Dagon.
How many Israelis have signed up? Over 25,000 have registered. Several thousand have paid the $75 commitment deposit. The target is 70,000.
Has any Israeli media reported on the financial filings? No. Hebrew-language coverage has focused on the political fight — Likud's legal threats, the Regev airport story, and the logistics of the operation. The 990 data, the one-grantee structure, and the $20.4 million figure have not been reported in any outlet until this article.
Olam has requested AID Coalition's Form 990 under IRC Section 6104(d). This is a developing story. We will continue investigating and updating this article through Election Day, October 27, 2026.
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