That was the entire argument behind the creation of the Jewish state following the Holocaust. Yet under Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has become a country where growing numbers of its own citizens are questioning whether they have any future at all.

The October 27 election is now approaching, and Netanyahu is facing a population exhausted by years of war, political division, military mobilization, and the constant threat of another attack. What is particularly revealing is that Israelis are not simply complaining about the government. They are leaving, and the numbers have reached levels that should alarm anyone concerned about the country's long-term survival.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that 268,509 Israeli citizens left the country for at least three consecutive months between 2023 and 2025. That compares with 183,219 during the corresponding three-year period a decade earlier, an increase of approximately 47%. The annual figures were 86,509 in 2023, 91,499 in 2024, and 90,922 in 2025. These are not all permanent emigrants, and the distinction matters. Nevertheless, researchers estimate that between 45,000 and 50,000 Israelis emigrated for at least one year during 2025 alone. The trend has continued through three years of conflict, and the researchers themselves are concerned that continued departures could eventually threaten Israel's economic and national security.

Israel's own Central Bureau of Statistics reported that approximately 69,500 Israelis were classified as emigrants in 2025, while only 18,800 were classified as returning. That represents a negative balance of approximately 50,700 among those two categories. The official figures use a different methodology from the Tel Aviv University study and classify emigration after a qualifying period abroad, so they should not be confused with the number who physically departed during that calendar year. The Taub Center calculated that Israel's overall international migration balance, including new immigrants, had turned negative in 2024 and was expected to remain negative in 2025. This is a remarkable reversal for a country that spent generations encouraging Jews from around the world to relocate there.

The Bank of Israel has acknowledged the deterioration. Its 2025 annual report found that the migration balance had shifted from an average annual gain of roughly 20,000 people during 2016–2019 to an average annual loss of approximately 20,000 during 2024–2025. Some of that change reflects people who had recently arrived from Russia and Ukraine and subsequently moved elsewhere. It would be misleading to portray every departure as a lifelong Israeli fleeing Netanyahu. But the central bank also identified a meaningful increase in emigration among native-born Israelis. The problem cannot simply be dismissed as temporary immigrants returning home.

What is perhaps even more troubling is the number of people considering leaving. A survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in April 2025 found that approximately one-quarter of Jewish Israelis and one-third of Arab Israelis were considering living abroad, either temporarily or permanently. Among secular Jews, the figure reached 39%. These are people who have grown up in Israel, established careers, raised families, and contributed to the economy. They are now questioning whether remaining is worth the financial, political, and physical risks. Considering emigration is not the same as actually leaving, but when such a substantial portion of the population begins looking toward the exits, the government should be asking what has gone wrong.