Israeli Emigration Peaks Amid Political Turmoil

In the months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the ensuing wars, a growing number of native-born Israelis have chosen to relocate abroad. Iris Meiri-Snir, a former vice-principal of a Jerusalem high school, and her husband, neuroscientist Hagai Agmon-Snir, left their home in Mevaseret Zion for Arona, a town on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. They describe the move as a protest against what they call a “fascist current” that has entered mainstream Israeli society. Similar sentiments are echoed by other emigrants: a man identified only as “Ishai” cites “endless and pointless wars” and the high cost of living, while Jaffa-based stylist Anna Lukatsky is moving to the Greek island of Paros after the High Holidays, noting that the political climate reinforced her decision to pursue a long-deferred personal dream.

The Jerusalem Post

A Tel Aviv University study estimates that between 40,000 and 50,000 Israelis have lived abroad for at least a year in each of the past three years, marking a record run of emigration that began amid the 2023 political upheaval. The study’s authors say the numbers do not yet constitute a significant economic or security risk, but warn that a continued rise could alter that assessment. A separate Israel Tax Authority study finds that emigrants’ pre-departure incomes were about 50 % higher than the national average, with doctors and engineers disproportionately represented, indicating a “brain drain” of highly educated, high-earning citizens.

The Jerusalem Post

Meiri-Snir and Agmon-Snir report a socially active life in Italy, meeting regularly with other Israeli expatriates and European expats, and say they have experienced no antisemitism. Lukatsky, traveling with her two teenage daughters and newly married partner, emphasizes a desire to “live by the sea” and write a book, while downplaying political discourse. Ishai, who served in the West Bank and grew disillusioned after Oct. 7, argues that most Israelis either “worship Bibi” or see him as the source of all problems, and sees little prospect for change at the ballot box.

The Jerusalem Post

The authors of the Tel Aviv University study caution that the current emigration trend could become a “dangerous” increase in brain drain if it continues. Meanwhile, immigration to Israel in 2025 saw more than 22,500 new arrivals, including about 8,500 from Western nations; French aliyah more than tripled between 2023 and 2025, and Nefesh B’Nefesh reported that over 2,300 North American Jews were planning to move to Israel that summer. These opposing flows suggest a complex picture in which security concerns and political dissatisfaction drive some Israelis abroad, while the same crises motivate others to relocate to Israel.

The Jerusalem Post