Societies invest significant resources in building resilience so that they can withstand external enemies, survive and achieve sustainable prosperity. The most important resource for that is the human one, which is paramount for creating a sense of unity around shared values and an ethos that galvanizes society, especially in times of crisis, whether domestic or international. This is another major test that the current Israeli government has failed colossally.

To put it plainly, in the midst of a multifront war, a considerable proportion of Israeli society has simply become so fed up with its own government that swathes of people are deciding to leave the country in search of greener pastures and a better and more peaceful future.

On the watch of the most extreme and damaging right-wing coalition government in the country’s history, which was formed in 2023, emigration has become a phenomenon that can no longer be ignored. A new study by Tel Aviv University, based on data collected by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, reveals a steep increase in the number of Israeli citizens leaving the country for at least three consecutive months since 2023.

In 2025, 90,922 Israeli citizens left Israel for at least three consecutive months, following 91,499 in 2024 and 86,509 in 2023, and there are indications that the trend has continued during the first six months of this year. In total, 268,300 Israelis left the country for at least three consecutive months during these three years, compared with 183,219 during the corresponding three-year period a decade earlier. On average, this represents an increase of nearly one-third per year. These are all years in which Benjamin Netanyahu has been in power, which should make him accountable and answerable, particularly during an election campaign.

Considering that Israel has a population of just over 10 million, this is gradually becoming a strategic threat, not only because of the numbers involved but also because of the characteristics of those choosing either to take an extended break from the country or to leave with the intention of emigrating permanently.

Netanyahu should be held accountable and answerable, particularly during an election campaign.

Yossi Mekelberg

Prof. Itai Ater, who led the research, observed that, for now, these figures do not pose a risk to Israel’s resilience. “However, looking ahead — and unless there is a change — there are growing concerns that rising emigration from Israel might jeopardize the country’s future security and economy,” he wrote.

There are already indications of who is leaving. Research by the Israel Tax Authority’s Planning and Economics Division, which examined the incomes of Israeli emigrants over the past decade, found that the more affluent are leaving at a much higher rate, with the increase becoming particularly sharp since 2023, almost double the rate recorded up to 2019.

The authors of the report, as quoted by The Times of Israel, concluded: “From all the indicators regarding Israelis recently leaving the country, a consistent picture emerges: the pace of emigration among the strong and affluent strata of society increased, whereas among the weaker strata, the departure rate is almost unchanged.”

Whereas in the past the average income of those leaving Israel was broadly in line with the population as a whole, today their income is approximately 50 percent higher. A disproportionate number come from the medical and high-tech sectors. This is hardly surprising: their professions are more internationally mobile, they enjoy strong reputations abroad and they have the financial means and language skills required to relocate without the difficulties faced by many others.

A high proportion of those choosing to spend an extended period abroad are also more secular and liberal-leaning. Many have served in the military and their children would likely have been expected to do so in the future. Under the current government, they feel increasingly ideologically disenfranchised and believe that they no longer share the values represented by those in power.

For them, the combination of a rising cost of living, heavy taxation and decades of military service — first as conscripts and then as reservists, while others are exempt from these obligations — has become increasingly intolerable. A government that in their view is ferociously attacking the democratic system, exempting tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox young men from military service and offering no credible political horizon for ending the wars and conflicts that they themselves are required to fight and pay for is unlikely to instill either trust or hope that this is the right place for them or their children.

Given how detrimental it is to the country when some of its finest and brightest no longer see their future as being tied to Israel, this should be a major theme of the current election campaign. Opposition parties should be outlining how they intend to address the challenge. Instead, it is hardly discussed.

Part of the reason may be the stigma historically attached to leaving Israel. There is even a specific Hebrew term for those who leave: “yordim” (descenders), which, at least in the past, carried a strongly negative connotation — a kind of badge of shame. This stood in contrast to those who made “aliyah,” which literally means “ascending” and refers to immigration to Israel, a concept deeply embedded in the country’s ethos since its establishment.

Opposition parties should be outlining how they intend to address the challenge. Instead, it is hardly discussed.

Yossi Mekelberg

For much of its existence, Israel has revered those who arrive from the diaspora, while treating those who leave the country almost as deserters. But among younger Israelis, and increasingly among those who are not so young, that attitude has been changing.

Over recent years, as fears have grown that the country is being taken over by antidemocratic forces, that religious laws and ways of life are spreading and in some cases being imposed, and that extended wars are becoming the norm rather than the exception, hundreds of thousands are simply looking for the exit door. They no longer see leaving as something for which they should be ashamed.

As uncomfortable as this conversation may be, particularly at a time when the country is still, to a greater or lesser extent, engaged on several active war fronts, it may be tempting to regard such discussion as demoralizing and potentially beneficial to Israel’s enemies.

Yet, however valid that concern may be, the importance of addressing and containing this trend outweighs the danger of not discussing it openly. Among the long list of crucial issues and features that Netanyahu and his coalition partners have placed in jeopardy throughout his time in power is the country’s ability to retain its people. And particularly those who are highly educated, economically productive and have been putting their lives on the line for the country, even while disagreeing with the government’s policies.

The fact that an increasing number of Israelis have already made for the exit door, while many others admit to contemplating it, should be regarded as yet another serious stain on Netanyahu’s political record as he campaigns to be reelected.

  • Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg