Israeli Parliamentary Report Warns of Unprecedented 'Tsunami' of Israeli Emigration

A report presented to the Israeli Knesset revealed an unprecedented wave of emigration witnessed in Israel, with more than 125,000 citizens leaving the country between the beginning of 2022 and mid-2024. The report warned of the continuation of this trend during the current year 2025 as the war in Gaza extends.

The head of the Immigration and Absorption Committee in the Knesset, MK Gilaad Kariv, described the situation as "not a wave of emigration, but a tsunami of Israelis choosing to leave the country." He expressed concern over the lack of a government plan to address this phenomenon, emphasizing that his committee will work on addressing it in the future.

According to the report prepared by the Knesset Research Center, the net migration balance decreased by 125,200 people, recording record numbers of departures reaching 82,800 in 2023 alone. The report compared these figures to the annual average of immigrants between 2009 and 2021, which did not exceed 40,500 people.

The report attributed this exceptional phenomenon to a combination of intertwined factors, with the war with Hamas in Gaza and internal political turmoil over the judicial reform plan emerging, in addition to the economic repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

In her analysis of this phenomenon, Professor Lilach Lev-Ari from the Oranim College pointed to a radical shift in the motivations for emigration, explaining that "political and security reasons have become the main driving force today instead of seeking educational opportunities and professional success that prevailed in past decades."

Danny Zaken from the National Insurance Institute also noted another indicator of the growing phenomenon, as requests to cancel residency in Israel have more than tripled, from an average of 2,500 requests before 2021 to 8,400 requests in 2024.