The Hebrew-language "I voted" button that will be made available to Israeli voters for the March 17 election. Photo: Facebook.

JNS.org – On Wednesday, Facebook announced plans to offer Israeli users the option to share that they have voted in the upcoming Knesset elections on March 17, mirroring the feature offered to American voters during the 2012 presidential election.

According to Facebook, Israelis will be able to press an “I voted” button that will appear at the top of their news feed. This will make their voting status visible to their Facebook friends. Users will also be able to receive information about their polling station from Israel’s Central Election Committee via the social network.

“Facebook connects people with the things that are important to them, and election periods are rich with significant conversation moments and civilian debates. The voter-participation rate is an important matter worldwide, and in Israel, we hope that the ‘I’m Voting’ button will make it easier for voters to share the fact that they are participating in the elections, and will serve as a reminder to others to go out and vote,” said Elizabeth Linder, Facebook’s Politics & Government Specialist for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, reported Yedioth Ahronoth.

The “I voted” button was also offered to Indian voters during last year’s election of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. More than 4 million Indian voters used the feature during the election period, Facebook said.

Meanwhile, Facebook on Tuesday removed the page of the Hamas terrorist group’s news agency, Shehab, in response to a complaint by Israeli students participating in a program fighting antisemitism. Facebook removed the page, which had 2.7 million likes, because it contained graphic violence, violating the social network’s terms of use.