The number of Israelis who left the country with no plans to return was higher than those who returned to Israel, a special report by the Knesset Research and Information Center showed on Monday.
The data prompted head of the Immigration and Absorption Committee on Israeli emigration in the Knesset, Labor deputy Gilad Kariv to say, “This is not a wave of emigration, it’s a tsunami of Israelis choosing to leave the country.”
The report, prepared for a discussion ahead of Tuesday’s session of the Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, said that in 2020, 34,000 Israelis left for extended periods, followed by 43,400 in 2021.
In contrast, 32,500 and 23,600 returned to Israel in those years respectively.
In 2022-2023, there was also a surge in the number of Israelis leaving for the long term. In 2022, 59,400 Israelis emigrated, a 44% increase from the previous year, and in 2023, the figure reached 82,800 Israelis, a 39% increase from the previous year, with a significant increase in the number of departures in October 2023, following the outbreak of the war.
The growth in the number of those leaving has continued in 2024.
Meanwhile, 29,600 Israelis living abroad returned to Israel in 2022, 24,200 returned in 2023, and 12,100 returned in the first eight months of 2024, the report said.
In 2024, nearly 50,000 people left between January and August, the report added.
Most Migratory Cities
By cities, Tel Aviv had the highest percentage of migrants in 2024, accounting for 14% of its population, followed by Haifa (7.7%), Netanya (6.9%), and Jerusalem (6.3%).
In the same year, Israel saw more men than women migrating, with 42,605 male immigrants compared to 40,160 female emigrants.
By age groups, 28,915 were 30‑49; 22,183 were 0‑19; 16,095 were 20‑29; 15,581 were 50+ years.
According to Central Bureau of Statistics data, 79,000 Israelis emigrated between last Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and this one.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said Israel is running a negative migration balance, and the government has no plan to stop the worrying trend. Data also showed a sharp rise in Israelis moving abroad after the October 7 war.
“This is no longer a trend of people leaving the country, it’s a tsunami,” Committee chair MK Gilad Kariv said.
“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 added.
Kariv 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.”
The deputy also noted that Israel can reduce this phenomenon, “but the current government’s priorities are entirely different, which will only intensify the worrying trend. These priorities are no less than trampling on Zionist values and the future of Israeli society.”
