‘A real strategic threat’: Emigration of Israelis hits record numbers
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/33785
Israel has witnessed record population outflow in the last five years, according to official data cited in a report by Hebrew news outlet Ynet.
The data shows that Israel has recorded a sharply negative migration balance over the past four years, with far more Israelis leaving than returning.
The government has “no plan to stop the worrying trend,” the report says.
According to the data, 34,400 Israelis emigrated in 2020, compared to 32,500 who returned. The gap widened each year – 41,400 left in 2021, 59,400 in 2022, and a record 82,800 in 2023.
For 2024, covering the period from January to August, 49,000 Israelis have already left, while only 12,100 have returned.
Overall, between 2020 and 2024, Israel lost a net 145,900 residents to emigration. The figures mark the steepest sustained population outflow in decades.
The Ynet report cited an assessment prepared by the Knesset’s Research and Information Center (RIC).
“This is no longer a trend of people leaving the country, it’s a tsunami. Many Israelis are choosing to build their future outside the State of Israel, and fewer and fewer choose to return,” Knesset Committee chair MK Gilad Kariv was cited as saying, adding that the situation “threatens the resilience of Israeli society and must be seen as a real strategic threat.”
