French Immigrant Builds Voting Tool for 50,000 Israelis

Moving to a new country is hard enough without trying to decode an entire political system in a language you're still learning.

Dan Finel, a 27-year-old French immigrant to Israel, saw this challenge firsthand when preparing for his first Israeli election. So he built a solution that's now helping tens of thousands of other newcomers make informed choices at the ballot box.

His free platform, knesset2026.com, offers a simple 16-question quiz that matches users with candidates who share their political views. The service works in six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Hebrew.

Finel created the tool after noticing a crucial gap. Information about Israeli candidates was almost entirely in Hebrew, leaving immigrants who hadn't mastered the language struggling to understand their options. "There was a lack of information about candidates in foreign languages for those who do not follow the news in Hebrew," he explained.

The platform does more than just matching. It sends daily political news summaries in each user's chosen language and publishes updates on pre-election polling. Finel regularly updates the questions to keep pace with evolving campaign issues.

More than 50,000 people have already used the service, mostly between ages 25 and 40. That's 50,000 immigrants who can now participate fully in democracy despite language barriers.

Finel himself arrived in Israel through an unusual path. He grew up in Paris but visited Israel annually from age six. A six-month internship through the Masa Israel Journey program during business school turned into something more permanent. The Israel Tech Challenge program, which helps young professionals launch tech careers in Israel, gave him his start.

His planned arrival date of October 9, 2023, got pushed to November due to circumstances. He officially completed his immigration process in September 2024. Now working as a data specialist at Similarweb, he's still improving his Hebrew while helping others navigate the same challenges he faced.

Finel will cast his first Israeli vote on October 27. He views the upcoming election as crucial for a country facing deep social divisions, and he hopes his platform promotes greater understanding among all Israelis.

Why This Inspires

What started as one immigrant's personal frustration became a bridge connecting thousands of newcomers to democratic participation. Finel didn't wait for someone else to solve the problem or complain about the system. He simply built what was missing.

His story shows how fresh perspectives from newcomers can strengthen entire communities. The immigrants using his platform aren't just passive recipients of help. They're becoming engaged citizens who can contribute their voices to important conversations shaping their new home.

Democracy works best when everyone can participate, regardless of which language they dream in.