Record number of Israelis have left the country since 2020, with no plan to stop the exodus
Israel is seeing a sharp rise in emigration, with 145,900 more citizens leaving than returning since 2020; A Knesset report links the trend to the Oct. 7 war, warns of strategic risks, and notes the government lacks a plan to reverse the exodus
Two years since the Gaza war broke out, a new Knesset report on Monday reveals a particularly grim picture: Israel is running a negative migration balance, and the government has no plan to stop the worrying trend. Data shows a sharp rise in Israelis moving abroad after the October 7 massacre.
A special report by the Knesset’s Research and Information Center (RIC), prepared ahead of today’s session of the Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, presents troubling numbers: between 2020 and 2024, some 145,900 more Israelis left the country than returned.
In 2020, 34,000 Israelis left for extended periods, followed by 43,400 in 2021; by contrast, 32,500 and 23,600 returned in those years, respectively.
In the years 2022–2023, there was a sharp jump in long‑term departures: in 2022, 59,400 Israelis left, representing a 44 % increase over the prior year, and in 2023 that rose to 82,800, up 39 % from 2022, with a marked increase of departures in October 2023 after the war broke out.
The rise in departures remained steady in 2024, as between January and August 2024, roughly 50,000 Israelis left, a rate similar to 2023.
Meanwhile, the number of Israelis returning after extended stays abroad fell: 24,200 in 2023 versus 29,600 in 2022; and between January and August 2024, only 12,100 returned versus 15,600 in the same months of 2023.
In all recent years the number of returning Israelis has been smaller than the number of leaving. In 2023, the gap nearly doubled to 58,600 Israelis; in 2024 (to August) it fell to 36,900 Israelis.
Negative migration balance in Israel
Committee chair MK Gilad Kariv said, “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. This phenomenon threatens the resilience of Israeli society and must be seen as a real strategic threat."
“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", he added.
"We 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."
Meanwhile, ahead of the Knesset discussion, it emerged that the Israeli government has no structured plan to curb the phenomenon or to encourage the return of Israeli expatriates. According to Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) data, between last Rosh Hashanah and this Rosh Hashanah, 79,000 Israelis migrated abroad.
Breakdown by cities: Tel Aviv–Jaffa leads the emigration figures, accounting for 14% of all Israelis who left in 2024; followed by Haifa (7.7 %), Netanya (6.9 %) and Jerusalem (6.3 %).
The fewest were from Herzliya (1.8 %), Ashkelon (1.9 %) and Be’er Sheva (2.1 %).
More men left: 42,605 compared with 40,169 women.
By age groups: 28,915 were 30‑49; 22,183 were 0‑19; 16,095 were 20‑29; 15,581 were 50+ years.
