Arabic version: خبراء يحذرون من أن موجة الهجرة من إسرائيل قد تعيد تشكيل مستقبلها

According to Al Jazeera, an increasing number of Israelis are leaving the country before critical elections later this year, reversing a trend that had sustained Israel for decades. A study by the Israeli tax authority published earlier this month found emigration was higher in 2023 and 2024 than in previous years, and that those leaving were in higher tax brackets.

A Tel Aviv University survey published in August, drawing on Central Bureau of Statistics data, found that nearly 270,000 Israelis left over the past three years. More than 86,500 left in 2023, followed by about 91,500 in 2024 and a similar number in 2025. Gilad Kariv, chair of the Israeli parliament’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, called the trend a “tsunami” of emigration and said the government was doing nothing to address it.

Many Israelis who identify as liberal say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has made the country less secular and weakened the independence of institutions, particularly the judiciary. Protests against efforts to weaken judicial oversight drew tens of thousands of people in 2023. Analysts cited by Al Jazeera also pointed to uncertainty over security, the political direction of the country and continuing conflict as factors behind departures.

Israeli demographer Sergio Della Pergola said sustained outward migration at this level was alarming, even though Israel’s migration balance had turned negative briefly during earlier financial crises. Michael Ben-Gad of City St George’s, University of London, said retaining young, educated and liberal people was important for economic growth. Researcher Lilach Lev Ari said the recent wave increasingly includes highly educated, high-achieving young families, while warning that the country should be alarmed but did not need to panic.