Israel is seeing young, well-paid people exiting in droves. Here’s why

People have been leaving Israel in record numbers over the past few years.

That’s what the data from a new report shows in what Israeli officials say paints a ‘troubling picture of emigration patterns’.

The report shows that most of the people leaving are highly educated, well-paid, secular, and left-leaning – a majority of them working in Israel’s tech sector, which powers the economy of the country. Many of those leaving comprise young couples, families, and professionals such as doctors and researchers.

But what do we know? Why is this happening?

Let’s take a closer look.

By the numbers

The report was published by the Knesset Research and Information Centre (RIC). It came ahead of a meeting of Israel’s parliamentary Committee for Immigration and Absorption slated for today (November 24). Data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) shows that around 36,000 citizens left Israel every year between 2009 and 2021.

However, that number has jumped precipitously since 2020. Between 2020 and 2024, some 145,900 more Israelis left the country for the long term (defined as over nine months) than returned, as per the RIC.

In 2020, 34,000 Israelis left the country for an extended period, followed by 43,400 in 2021. In 2022 and 2023 that number surged to 59,400 and 82,800 respectively.

The latter came as the Gaza war, which began after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, raged and the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to refashion the country’s judiciary in a controversial manner.

In 2024, that number was also around 83,000 with a net negative migration of over 10,000 people in October alone. However, it must be noted that the trend was seen retreating in November and December 2024.

The report counts emigrants as those who have spent most of the year outside the country, which means that most of those included in the figures for 2024 actually left in 2023 and so on. To make matters worse, the data show just 24,000 Israelis on average returning to the country after long-term stays abroad.

The data show that around 40 per cent of those who left and 38 per cent of those who returned in 2022 were between the ages of 20 and 39. These figures are higher than the makeup of the age group in Israel’s general population, which is around 27 per cent.

In 2024, residents of Tel Aviv comprised 14 per cent of all Israelis who departed. This was followed by Haifa (7.7 per cent), Netanya (6.9 per cent) and Jerusalem (6.3 per cent). The fewest people who left came from Herzliya (1.8 per cent), Ashkelon (1.9 per cent) and Be’er Sheva (2.1 per cent).

More men left compared to women, 42,605 to 40,169. Over 22,000 Israelis who left were under the age of 19 and 16,000 in their 20s. Just 15,500 were over the age of 50.

Meanwhile, 23,800 Israelis returned to the country in 2024. That number was at 24,200 in 2023, and 29,600 in 2022. Between January and August 2024, only 12,100 returned compared to 15,600 over the same period in 2023. In 2023, 47,000 immigrants arrived in Israel.

This net migration has resulted in the country’s population growth slowing to 1.1 per cent in 2024, compared to 1.6 per cent in 2023 and 2.2 per cent in 2022. Israel’s population currently stands at around 10 million people including 7.7 million registered as Jews and “others” and 2.2 million Arabs. The tally also included around 216,000 foreigners.

The CBS said around 181,000 babies were born in Israel in 2024, around 76 per cent of them to Jewish mothers, the rest to Arab mothers. Around 51,400 residents died in 2024, slightly higher than in 2023.

This report does not count the new immigrants (Olim) to Israel. In 2025 , just 11,300 new immigrants arrived during the first seven months of the year. In 2024, that number was approximately 32,800; in 2023 that number was 46,000; in 2022 that number was 73,000; and in 2021 that number was 25,500.

Israel’s domestic turmoil, foreign conflicts taking toll

Experts say this is happening because of Israel’s domestic turmoil and Israel’s foreign conflicts.

Daphna Patishi-Pryluk, founder of Settled.In, an agency that helps Israelis relocate, told the Washington Post that prior to 2023 young Israelis were seeking career opportunities abroad. However, now more and more clients are seeking a break from the wars Israel has been engaged in and the politics at home.

She said solicitations massively increased after Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June 2024 when Tel Aviv itself came under attack from Iranian missiles.

Avraham Binnenfeld told the newspaper he was already planning to move when the Hamas attack occurred. Binnenfeld, who had had his fill of Israeli politics, said, “Being only a few hours from a siren, a terror attack, a regional war, a missile from Iran, our brothers in Gaza and in Lebanon, it’s all so much.” Binnenfeld says he has little faith in the current Netanyahu regime. “I need to know that all that suffering is for a good cause,” he added.

Dr Ran Porat, from the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University, told The Jewish Independent he is unsurprised as this mirrors earlier crises like the 2006 Lebanon war.

“Economic factors and internal political strife are also strong predictors of emigration in many countries, and Israel is no exception,” Porat said.

“There is no doubt that the intense internal rift since 2023 surrounding the government’s controversial judicial overhaul acted as a major push factor, prompting many Israelis to leave. However, the unprecedented catastrophe of 7 October — which exposed Israel’s vulnerabilities in protecting its citizens — together with the ensuing war in Gaza, attacks on multiple fronts, economic hardship and deep political divisions, has further eroded many Israelis’ faith in the state’s basic covenant with its citizens: to ensure their safety and promote the national interest. Many now feel that promise has been broken.”

Experts complain that the Netanyahu government is taking no actions to solve the issue.

‘Threatens resilience of Israeli society’

MK Vladimir Beliak, from the centrist Yesh Atid party, told the website, “This emigration is causing billions of shekels in losses each year. Instead of trying to understand what is happening, the government’s response can be summed up as ‘good riddance.’” He said that while the Netanyahu government thinks the exodus could be to their benefit, it could hurt them in the long term. “But if they don’t put an end to this tsunami, they will soon discover that the best people in the country have left.”

Even those in government are calling for the Netanyahu administration to act.

Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs chair MP Gilad Kariv called the numbers a ‘tsunami’. “Many Israelis are choosing to build their future outside the State of Israel, and fewer and fewer choose to return. This phenomenon threatens the resilience of Israeli society and must be seen as a real strategic threat,” he said.

“This is not fate but the result of government actions that fractured Israeli society before the war and neglected the civilian front over the past two years.”

Kariv added that it was still possible to stem the flow but that doing so would require urgent intervention from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We can reduce this phenomenon, but the current government’s priorities are entirely different, which will only intensify the worrying trend,” he said. “These priorities are no less than trampling on Zionist values and the future of Israeli society.”

But some in the government remain unperturbed.

Eric Michaelson, director of aliyah at the Immigration and Absorption Ministry, was quoted as saying by The Jewish Independent, “We are not a ministry for preventing emigration, and we do not have a mandate to stop it. Our responsibility is to assist new immigrants and returning residents — and to help keep them in the country for the long term.”

With inputs from agencies