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Israeli Returnees Plunge 58 Percent Since 2009
(MENAFN) The number of Israelis moving back to Israel dropped 58% in 2025 compared with 2009, an Israeli parliamentary committee disclosed Monday, as estimates suggest close to 1 million Israelis are currently living overseas.
The figures emerged during a session of the Knesset's Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, held to examine the rising trend of Israeli emigration, according to the parliament's official website.
Data compiled by the Knesset Research and Information Center showed just 4,483 Israelis returned to the country in 2025, a steep drop from 10,903 in 2009.
Between 2005 and 2024, roughly 141,000 Israelis moved back after time abroad — an annual average of about 7,000, the center said. Estimates presented to the committee put the current number of Israelis living outside the country at around 1 million.
Where returnees are coming from
The center's analysis found 45% of returning Israelis had been living in the US, followed by 6% from the UK, 5% from Canada and 4% from France. Germany, Russia, Romania and Ukraine each accounted for 3% of returnees, while Australia, Italy and Moldova each made up 2%.
More than a quarter of those who returned were minors, and 47% fell between the ages of 28 and 60. About 70% had lived abroad for at least five years before coming back.
Committee chair blames government inaction
Gilad Kariv, who chairs the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, accused the government of failing to act to bring expatriate Israelis home.
"Since our last discussion on this issue, additional data have been published indicating a decline in the number of Israelis returning to Israel," Kariv said.
He said the committee had urged the government to draft a five-year plan to encourage the return of Israelis living abroad, noting that a similar initiative launched in 2010 was never renewed.
"We presented a wide range of measures that could be taken to encourage Israelis to return to their homeland, but unfortunately, the government chose to ignore our recommendations," Kariv said, adding that officials had also failed to set up a roundtable to study the issue.
"There is no body in Israel responsible for addressing emigration," he said, accusing the government of dodging responsibility.
A growing doctor exodus
The committee session also spotlighted an accelerating departure of medical professionals.
"We are seeing an increase in the number of doctors leaving Israel and a decline in the number of those choosing to return," said Itai Ater, a professor at Tel Aviv University.
He said highly experienced senior physicians make up roughly 20% of those leaving, pointing out that other countries actively court medical professionals with incentives.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported Sunday on a Tel Aviv University study showing at least 1,370 doctors left Israel between 2023 and 2025. One in five of those who left during that span was over 45 — a pattern the study called "worrying."
A separate report from Israel's Finance Ministry found roughly 24% of specialist doctors at public hospitals are approaching retirement age, while nearly 25% of currently practicing doctors have already passed retirement age but remain on the job due to staffing shortages.
Record numbers leaving
A second Tel Aviv University study, released in early August, found that 268,509 Israelis left the country for at least three months between 2023 and 2025 — a figure Israeli public broadcaster called a record.
Israeli media have linked the rising emigration to the fallout from the Gaza war, surging living costs and political turmoil over the government's push to overhaul the judiciary.
A Kantar poll conducted for the outlet and published Aug. 9 found nearly one-fifth of Israelis had considered leaving the country over the previous two years, while about 12% said the outcome of the upcoming general election could factor into a decision to stay or go.
An Israeli outlet Israel also reported Aug. 7, citing an internal Tax Authority document, that emigration among wealthy Israelis doubled between 2019 and 2024. Annual tax revenue lost as a result climbed from about 500 million shekels ($166 million) to 1.2 billion shekels ($400 million) in 2023 and 2024, the document showed.
The figures come as Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip continues, with health authorities there reporting more than 73,000 Palestinians killed and over 174,000 injured, the majority women and children, alongside widespread destruction of the territory's infrastructure. They also coincide with Israel's ongoing strikes in Lebanon and continued threats against Iran.
The figures emerged during a session of the Knesset's Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, held to examine the rising trend of Israeli emigration, according to the parliament's official website.
Data compiled by the Knesset Research and Information Center showed just 4,483 Israelis returned to the country in 2025, a steep drop from 10,903 in 2009.
Between 2005 and 2024, roughly 141,000 Israelis moved back after time abroad — an annual average of about 7,000, the center said. Estimates presented to the committee put the current number of Israelis living outside the country at around 1 million.
Where returnees are coming from
The center's analysis found 45% of returning Israelis had been living in the US, followed by 6% from the UK, 5% from Canada and 4% from France. Germany, Russia, Romania and Ukraine each accounted for 3% of returnees, while Australia, Italy and Moldova each made up 2%.
More than a quarter of those who returned were minors, and 47% fell between the ages of 28 and 60. About 70% had lived abroad for at least five years before coming back.
Committee chair blames government inaction
Gilad Kariv, who chairs the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, accused the government of failing to act to bring expatriate Israelis home.
"Since our last discussion on this issue, additional data have been published indicating a decline in the number of Israelis returning to Israel," Kariv said.
He said the committee had urged the government to draft a five-year plan to encourage the return of Israelis living abroad, noting that a similar initiative launched in 2010 was never renewed.
"We presented a wide range of measures that could be taken to encourage Israelis to return to their homeland, but unfortunately, the government chose to ignore our recommendations," Kariv said, adding that officials had also failed to set up a roundtable to study the issue.
"There is no body in Israel responsible for addressing emigration," he said, accusing the government of dodging responsibility.
A growing doctor exodus
The committee session also spotlighted an accelerating departure of medical professionals.
"We are seeing an increase in the number of doctors leaving Israel and a decline in the number of those choosing to return," said Itai Ater, a professor at Tel Aviv University.
He said highly experienced senior physicians make up roughly 20% of those leaving, pointing out that other countries actively court medical professionals with incentives.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported Sunday on a Tel Aviv University study showing at least 1,370 doctors left Israel between 2023 and 2025. One in five of those who left during that span was over 45 — a pattern the study called "worrying."
A separate report from Israel's Finance Ministry found roughly 24% of specialist doctors at public hospitals are approaching retirement age, while nearly 25% of currently practicing doctors have already passed retirement age but remain on the job due to staffing shortages.
Record numbers leaving
A second Tel Aviv University study, released in early August, found that 268,509 Israelis left the country for at least three months between 2023 and 2025 — a figure Israeli public broadcaster called a record.
Israeli media have linked the rising emigration to the fallout from the Gaza war, surging living costs and political turmoil over the government's push to overhaul the judiciary.
A Kantar poll conducted for the outlet and published Aug. 9 found nearly one-fifth of Israelis had considered leaving the country over the previous two years, while about 12% said the outcome of the upcoming general election could factor into a decision to stay or go.
An Israeli outlet Israel also reported Aug. 7, citing an internal Tax Authority document, that emigration among wealthy Israelis doubled between 2019 and 2024. Annual tax revenue lost as a result climbed from about 500 million shekels ($166 million) to 1.2 billion shekels ($400 million) in 2023 and 2024, the document showed.
The figures come as Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip continues, with health authorities there reporting more than 73,000 Palestinians killed and over 174,000 injured, the majority women and children, alongside widespread destruction of the territory's infrastructure. They also coincide with Israel's ongoing strikes in Lebanon and continued threats against Iran.
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