Postcard from Israel: Brain Drain
A surge in emigration is draining Israel of its best and brightest, including members of Unit 8200, its elite signals intelligence agency
TEL AVIV — One evening late last month, I was visiting with an Israeli friend at his Tel Aviv home when his cell phone loudly beeped and displayed a warning that a missile fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen was heading toward central Israel. As air raid sirens blared outside, I asked if perhaps we should head to the communal bomb shelter nearby.
“Not yet,” my friend said.
Instead, he calmly turned on the television, where live video of the Houthi cruise missile appeared, the exhaust flames from its engine glowing against the night sky. A few seconds later, we watched as an Israeli Iron Dome interceptor streaked skyward and destroyed the incoming missile in a bright flash. After ten minutes—the time Israel allots for the debris from intercepted missiles to hit the ground—my friend’s cell phone emitted the all-clear signal.
“There won’t be any more action tonight,” he predicted. He explained that ever since intensive Israeli airstrikes in May that heavily damaged the Houthi’s principal port at Hodeidah, nearby power plants and numerous weapons depots, the Iranian-backed rebels have only occasionally been firing one or two missiles at Israel “just to show they’re still in the fight.” And when that happens, “we just shoot them down,” he said. ”No big deal.”
Ever since Israeli forces bombed Iran’s nuclear and ballistic program in June and mauled its Middle East proxies —Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis—in response to Hamas’ 2023 attack, Israel today is in its strongest strategic position since its founding in 1948. And a broad majority of Israelis, especially those on the political right, share my friend’s confidence in Jerusalem’s overwhelming military superiority over its foes. But for other Israelis, including a growing number of well-educated young people, the triumphalism has given way to a deep revulsion toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s endless wars, the country’s skyrocketing cost of living, and its drift toward a hardline Jewish ethno-nationalism. Sensing no future for themselves in the current political and economic climate, many of these Israelis are either emigrating or preparing to leave in unprecedented numbers.
Their destinations include the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, many European Union countries, even Germany. They say they’re fed up with the seemingly never-ending war in Gaza, appalled by the government’s deliberate starvation of Gaza civilians, and pessimistic about the prospects of stopping Netanyahu’s longstanding efforts to geld Israel’s judiciary, the only authority that can block the government ‘s plans to annex the occupied West Bank and hold Netanyahu accountable in three trials on corruption charges, which the prime minister has repeatedly managed to postpone for several years.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Jerusalem, Israel today is experiencing the largest exodus of its citizens to other countries since its founding. The official figures show that nearly 83,000 Israelis emigrated from the country in 2024—more than double the number between 2009 and 2021 and higher than the emigration figures for both 2022 and 2023. The statistics also show the majority of 33,000 new immigrants who arrived last year are Orthodox Jews who are likely to bolster the constituency that has elected increasingly hawkish nationalistic governments for the past three decades.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s new plan to expand Israel’s military campaign and reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip is likely to increase emigration this year. A recent survey, published before the government approved Netanyahu’s plan last week, showed an unprecedented 15 percent percent of Israelis plan to emigrate within the next five years. Another survey published last year found one in four Jewish Israelis would emigrate to another country if they could. Some 40 percent of Israeli Arabs also said they would leave if given a practical opportunity.
“It feels like even the most basic values that I was raised on and that I believed were common to everyone—things like it’s absolutely unacceptable to starve children—even that is now considered radical left wing politics,” Dani Schoffman, 36, a veteran of IDF naval intelligence and a Tel Aviv filmmaker who plans to emigrate to Los Angeles, told me. “How the fuck did we get to this point?”
Studies show the bulk of those who’ve emigrated, or say they plan to, are well-educated, secular professionals in their late 20s and early 30s, including many high-tech entrepreneurs and engineers who came out of the military’s elite Unit 8200 signals intelligence branch. It’s the technical skills they master during their army service that has fueled the meteoric rise of Israel’s high-tech industry, now widely respected as a world-class leader in the field and one of the country’s most productive economic engines.
Emigration is also receiving a helping hand from U.S. venture capital firms, which are sending representatives to Israel to head-hunt entrepreneurial talent. After postponing a planned trip to Israel in June because of the war with Iran, recruiters from Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital powerhouse, are scheduled to arrive in Israel later this month for a series of private events aimed at snagging the best and brightest who served in Israel’s elite military units. Other American VC firms, including Sequoia, Greylock, and Index Ventures, are also active in Israel.
Many analysts say the high rate of emigration among this cohort is causing a serious brain drain. Unless the government or the private sector find incentives to stanch the outflow, they say the emigration will weaken both Israel’s economy and its security, particularly its electronic intelligence gathering. And because Israel has effectively become the principal U.S military and intelligence proxy in the Middle East, any weakening of Israel’s security by extension erodes U.S. security.
Daniel Ben-David, the head of Tel Aviv University’s Shoresh Institute for Socioeconomic Research, notes that Israel’s economy is more dependent on such highly educated specialists than that of almost any other country. He points out that while only 6 percent of Israel’s entire labor force works in the high-tech sector, that small fraction of the nation’s workers is responsible for fully half of all Israeli exports, whose value totaled $61 billion—that’s a b—for 2024.
“So an economic catastrophe doesn't require a million people to leave the country,” Ben David told the Swiss Neue Zuricher Zeitung earlier this year. “A few tens of thousands are enough.”
Killing a Sacred Cow
In a country that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust after World War II to serve as a safe haven for Jews, Israel’s emigration statistics defy a long-held Zionist imperative to strike deep immutable roots in the Jewish state. From an early age, Jewish Israelis are taught that leaving the country to live among strangers in a strange land is tantamount to desertion. Modern Hebrew reinforces that idea—the verb to immigrate to Israel is la’alot—to ascend—while to emigrate from Israel is to la’redet—descend, or sink into a lower status.
So sensitive is the issue of emigration that until a few years ago, the Israeli government closely held its emigration figures, publicizing only the favorable numbers of those who immigrated to Israel. The government finally allowed the declassification of its emigration figures to draw the public’s attention to the trend, in the hope of reversing it.
That won’t be easy. According to a comprehensive study of Israeli emigration released in April by the Israeli research firm Gitnux, economic issues such as Israel’s high taxes and the rising cost of living here remain potent inducements for those seeking an easier, better-paid life elsewhere.
Because Israel has effectively become the principal U.S military and intelligence proxy in the Middle East, any weakening of Israel’s security by extension through emigration erodes U.S. security.
But today, political and moral considerations have come to play a major role for some who’ve chosen to emigrate, the study found. In addition to their opposition to the war in Gaza, some Israelis say they’re leaving because they see that Netanyahu’s nearly four-year campaign to weaken Israel’s independent judiciary is sending Israel’s democracy down the path to autocracy. And with the demographic majority of rightwing Israeli voters who support his policies only growing larger, they’re deeply pessimistic about any return to moderate Israeli leadership.
Filmmaker Schoffman, who holds dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship, said the right wing’s domination of Israeli politics today —and most likely for years to come — has left him feeling “so powerless and hopeless that it seems like the only thing to do is leave. It’s become morally scarring to be part of Israel.”
Another driver of emigration, experts say, is Israelis’ strong suspicion that Netanyahu is prolonging the Gaza war to remain in power, using it to postpone his pending trial on longstanding corruption charges for as long as possible. Two of his ultra-rightwing coalition partners are well-aware of Netanyahu’s legal and political vulnerabilities once he leaves office and have threatened to bolt the government, forcing early elections, if Netanyahu agrees to end the war. Polls show Netanyahu, who is widely unpopular even among rightwing voters for his refusal to take any responsibility for the government’s failure to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, would lose such a vote, ending his ability to dodge prosecution.
After nearly two years of fighting, Netanyahu’s war in Gaza has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and killed at least 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. In addition to fueling emigration, the war has become a major diplomatic albatross for Israel, isolating it from long standing allies like Britain, France and Canada, all of whom have said they’ll recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly next month if Israel hasn’t ended the Gaza war by then. Yet Netanyahu remains unmoved. Last week, his cabinet approved his proposal to launch a new offensive whose objective once more is Hamas’ military and political annihilation and now, Israel’s occupation of the entire Gaza Strip and its two million Palestinian inhabitants.
That’s exasperated many retired top intelligence and military leaders, whom Netanyahu has ignored. In desperation last week, more than 600 of them, including former heads of Mossad and Shin Bet and senior IDF commanders, went over the PM’s head and sent a letter to Trump, urging him to pressure Netanyahu to end the Gaza war.
"Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government in the right direction,” they went on, adding: “End the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering."
Other than decrying televised scenes of emaciated Gazan children, however — “that’s real starvation stuff,” he said in Scotland 10 days ago—Trump has indicated he’s not going to weigh in on the war.
Emigration Satire
With so many of Israel’s problems fueling the exodus, it was only a matter of time before emigration became the object of cinematic parody here.
Late last month, the annual Jerusalem Film festival awarded top honors to a short, humorously mordant film that satirizes the desperation of some Israelis to flee from their overtaxed, high-priced country and the failure of its leaders to turn today’s military victories into a stable and peaceful tomorrow.
The film, by Ayal Sgerski and titled, “The Things We Do for Love and a Foreign Passport,” focuses on a young married couple who apply to become citizens of a fictitious Eastern European country called Pudlovia. The wife’s application is approved, but the husband’s is rejected because of a years-old Facebook post in which he ridiculed Pudlovian cooking. A consular official tell him the only way he can win citizenship is by paying a fine and cutting out his tongue.
“You are welcome to go live with your wife in Pudlovia as a citizen,” the official tells him, “but your tongue stays here.”
In the film’s final scene, the husband poses for his Pudlovian passport photo— and flashes a bloody smile. The audience knowingly howled.
Please allow me to reflect on your article (and I apologize for the lengthy reply, but in my humble opinion, your article requires a thorough response).
Let me start with a quote: “A vast majority of Israeli Jews – 79 percent – say they are ‘not so troubled’ or ‘not troubled at all’ by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza, according to a poll released Tuesday.” (Large Majority of Israeli Jews Untroubled by Reports of Famine in Gaza, Poll Finds, Haaretz, Aug 5, 2025)
I am trying to be kind to the Israeli people, giving them the benefit of the doubt by assuming they have simply been brainwashed by their own government. If that is the case, then once the curtain falls, their dignity will vanish in the same moment. It will be a devastating blow.
However, it is an undisputed fact that most people in Israel demonstrate to get the hostages back home to their families and, as you wrote, because they are simply tired of the war. It is not only Israelis who want their family members home; the Palestinian people would also love to see their relatives, many of whom were incarcerated in Israeli jails, sometimes as children, for throwing stones at those they see as their occupiers.
Nonetheless, the deeper question is: what is the true state of the situation on the ground?
Gaza has been reduced to rubble, filled with toxic chemicals and contaminated by heavy metals from ammunition and bombs that have been used. Both farmland and water are contaminated, and since Gaza is an arid place, even breathing there poses a health risk — something that affects Palestinians, IDF soldiers stationed there, and nearby Israeli settlements alike.
The official number of people killed now stands at over 60,000. These are deaths reported only to the remnants of the Palestinian authorities.
The real figure is likely in the low hundreds of thousands, including both direct and indirect victims. This estimate is based on the scale of destruction and the population density. The Gaza Strip is tiny and densely packed, now even more so due to the IDF’s established corridors.
If Mariupol, with 425,000 people and about three months of siege, is estimated to have between 27,000 and 88,000 deaths (“The UCDP best estimate of 27 000 fatalities are identified bodies, while the UCDP high estimate, which comes from Mariupol morgues, is 88 000. The overwhelming majority are likely to have been civilians,” Uppsala Conflict Data Program, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, at Uppsala University), then Gaza, with 2.3 million people, almost two years of bombardment, and similar or worse levels of destruction, would logically have casualties in the hundreds of thousands.
Estimate of approximately hundreds of thousands deaths is also supported by an article published in The Lancet in July 2024 that estimated 186,000 or more deaths (including indirect deaths): “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.” (Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential, The Lancet, Jully 10, 2024)
Now, let’s ask ourselves: how many people were “only” seriously injured? I mean those who will be disabled or seriously affected for the rest of their lives.
It is also worth remembering that people often fall victim to disease due to the conditions they are forced to live in, the lack of medication and medical care, malnutrition, and insufficient access to clean water.
Because of the aforementioned contamination in the rubble, water, and soil, people will continue to die for many years after the war ends. Also, many will suffer permanent psychological damage, leading to a high suicide rate.
Many of these factors are, and will continue, affecting Palestinians, IDF soldiers stationed there, and nearby Israeli settlements alike. The psychological problems among Israeli citizens are reaching the level of an epidemic.
“According to the findings of the report, an estimated 580,000 Israelis suffer from at least one symptom of PTSD at a severe level as a direct consequence of the events of October 7 and their aftermath.” (State Comptroller says 3 million Israelis suffering from trauma since October 7 ,The Times of Israel, February 11, 2025)
You wrote, „Israel today is in its strongest strategic position since its founding in 1948“.
Please allow me to strongly disagree.
In my view, Israel is the weakest it has ever been. It has lost most of its soft power capital — the students in the U.S. must be threatened to keep their just rage under wraps, and protesters are being arrested in the UK for the same reason.
Israel’s economy is imploding, and, as you have noted, it will only get worse because most creative people do not like extreme right-wing authoritarian regimes.
At the same time, society is fragmenting, and Israel is slowly imploding as a nation-state — very similar to what Trump achieved through his support for white supremacism.
And last but not least, Israel is militarily overstretched, while its pool of people willing to serve is shrinking. Even though it might not seem dramatic, modern warfare requires each function to be performed by a specialist, and it takes time to train them. So, as you have again correctly pointed out, even the loss of a few thousand key people could severely weaken Israel’s capability to wage future wars.
And there are two more key elements in play.
The first is the situation developing around the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Any further reckless action there could serve as a trigger and instantly turn the entire region against Israel, even on a military level.
The second is the question: what next?
When people are dying from an artificially induced famine just miles from Israeli stores full of groceries, you cannot expect them to feel anything positive toward those they perceive as their oppressors. It is reasonable to expect that the current horrors and desperation will give birth to endless hatred. I would love to be wrong about this, but it usually works that way.
And it is not just the case with Palestinians. Due to extensive daily reporting by all news outlets in the Arab world, ordinary people in its countries — the so-called Arab street — have, to put it euphemistically, close to zero sympathy for Israel and, specifically, for its Jewish citizens.
So, on one side, there is the problem of what to do with over two million people, largely living in tents, without basic hygiene, necessities, or health care, and with all infrastructure simply gone. On the other side, there are Israeli citizens whom all of their neighbors dislike (again, I am using a euphemism here) for the reasons I have described.
This is a dead-end alley.
I actually see it as quite plausible that this escalating desperate situation could lead to someone in Israel pushing the red button. And it is fair to say that it was our inability to set firm boundaries for the Israeli government, and our failure to enforce international law at all, while allowing Israel to do whatever it wanted for many decades, that has led to the situation we are in now.
It is beyond tragic that we have allowed the situation to reach this point. When your friend is trying to commit suicide, would you hand him a rope? I would hope not, and yet this is exactly what we have done in the name of “friendship.”
This experience, seeing all of this unfold, has made me seriously question the value of Western civilization and doubt whether what we have is even remotely close to true democracy. I was never naive — in fact, I am quite cynical — but this has gone far too far, and in a way, it was the last drop for me.
The least I can do as a person is be honest with myself about the situation Israel is in now, about how we helped it get there, and not lie to myself about it.
Here is a detailed analysis of how the goals of stemming emigration, retaining talent, and encouraging immigration in Israel can be accomplished. This provides specific, actionable strategies.
Detailed Action Plan to Reverse Israel's "Brain Drain"
The challenge of "brain drain" in Israel is a multifaceted issue that requires a comprehensive and sustained national effort. The following is a detailed breakdown of the strategies and policies that can be implemented to address this challenge effectively.
I. Halting the Exodus: Specific Measures to Stop Migration from Israel
To persuade talented Israelis to remain in the country, the government and civil society must address the root causes of their desire to leave. This requires a focus on creating a stable, secure, and unified nation.
A. Achieving Political and Judicial Stability
The current political and judicial turmoil is a primary driver of emigration. A clear path toward stability is essential.
* National Consensus on Judicial Reform: The government should initiate a broad-based national dialogue on judicial reform, involving all major political parties, legal experts, academics, and civil society organizations. The goal should be to reach a consensus that strengthens, rather than weakens, Israel's democratic institutions. This could involve a "cooling-off" period for any unilateral legislative changes.
* Strengthening Democratic Institutions: Beyond the immediate judicial crisis, there needs to be a long-term commitment to strengthening democratic norms and institutions. This includes ensuring the independence of the judiciary, protecting freedom of the press, and safeguarding civil liberties.
* Public Consultation and Engagement: The government should implement formal mechanisms for public consultation on major policy decisions. This will give citizens a greater sense of ownership and a voice in the direction of the country, reducing the feeling of alienation that can lead to emigration.
B. Enhancing Personal and National Security
A sense of security is fundamental to an individual's decision to remain in their home country.
* Investing in Advanced Security Technologies: Israel is a world leader in security technology. The government should increase investment in the development and deployment of advanced technologies to protect its citizens from both internal and external threats.
* Community-Oriented Policing: To improve the sense of personal security in daily life, there should be a shift toward community-oriented policing. This involves building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, leading to more effective crime prevention and a greater sense of safety.
* Strategic Diplomacy: A proactive and sophisticated diplomatic strategy aimed at de-escalating regional tensions and building alliances can contribute significantly to long-term security and stability.
C. Fostering National Unity and Social Cohesion
The deep social and political divisions in Israel are a source of significant stress and a driver of emigration.
* Education for Shared Citizenship: The education system should be reformed to promote a sense of shared citizenship and mutual respect among all segments of Israeli society, including secular and religious Jews, and the Arab minority.
* Government-Sponsored Dialogue
Initiatives: The government should fund and support initiatives that bring together different groups for dialogue and collaboration. This can help to break down stereotypes and build bridges of understanding.
* Supporting Civil Society Organizations:
Civil society organizations are already doing important work to promote social cohesion. The government should provide them with increased funding and support.
II. Nurturing Homegrown Talent: Detailed Strategies for Retaining Israelis
Retaining Israel's best and brightest requires creating an environment where they can thrive professionally and personally.
A. Supercharging the "Knowledge Economy"
Israel's greatest asset is its human capital. The government must invest heavily in the "knowledge economy" to retain its top minds.
* Dramatically Increase R&D Funding: The government should commit to a significant, multi-year increase in funding for academic and scientific research. This should be coupled with tax incentives for private sector R&D.
* Create "Centers of Excellence": The government should establish and fund "Centers of Excellence" in key scientific and technological fields. These centers would provide world-class facilities and resources to attract and retain top researchers.
* Viable Career Paths for Post-Doctoral Researchers: The government should create a clear and well-funded career path for post-doctoral researchers, offering them competitive salaries and job security in Israeli universities and research institutions.
B. Reinforcing the High-Tech Sector
The high-tech sector is the engine of the Israeli economy, but it is also a major source of emigration.
* Targeted Grants and Subsidies: The government should offer targeted grants and subsidies to early-stage startups and high-growth tech companies. This will help to create jobs and opportunities for skilled tech workers.
* University-Industry Partnerships: The government should facilitate partnerships between universities and the tech industry to ensure that graduates have the skills that are in demand. This could include joint research projects, internships, and curriculum development.
* Decentralize the Tech Scene: The government should invest in creating "innovation hubs" in cities outside of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. This will help to spread the benefits of the tech boom more evenly across the country and create opportunities in a wider range of locations.
C. Strengthening the Healthcare System
The emigration of physicians is a critical problem that must be addressed.
* Improve Salaries and Working Conditions: The government must address the long-standing issues of low pay and difficult working conditions in the public healthcare system.
* Invest in Medical Research and Training: Increased funding for medical research and the creation of more residency and fellowship positions will make Israel a more attractive place for doctors to practice and train.
* Programs to Bring Doctors Home: The government should create specific programs to attract Israeli doctors who have trained or are working abroad to return to Israel. These programs could include financial incentives, assistance with licensing, and opportunities for leadership positions.
III. Attracting the World's Best: A Proactive Approach to Immigration
Israel must not only retain its own talent but also actively recruit the best and brightest from around the world.
A. Marketing Israel as a Land of Opportunity
Israel needs to launch a sophisticated international marketing campaign to rebrand itself as a premier destination for talented individuals.
* Global Talent Attraction Campaign: This campaign should target skilled professionals, entrepreneurs, and academics in key sectors. It should highlight Israel's vibrant innovation ecosystem, its world-class universities, and its high quality of life.
* Leverage Diplomatic Missions: Israeli embassies and consulates around the world should be tasked with actively promoting immigration opportunities and recruiting talented individuals.
* Showcase Success Stories: The campaign should feature the stories of immigrants who have built successful careers and lives in Israel.
B. Creating a "Red Carpet" for Immigrants
To attract top talent, Israel must make the immigration process as smooth and welcoming as possible.
* "Talent Visa" Program: Israel should create a streamlined "talent visa" program for skilled workers, entrepreneurs, and their families. This would offer a fast-track to residency and citizenship.
* Generous Financial Incentives: The government should offer a package of financial incentives, including relocation grants, tax breaks for the first few years, and subsidized housing.
* Streamlined Credential Recognition: The process for recognizing foreign academic and professional credentials should be simplified and expedited.
C. Overcoming Academic and Cultural Isolation
Israel must be an active and engaged member of the global academic and cultural community.
* Fund International Collaborations: The government should provide generous funding for international academic conferences, joint research projects, and cultural exchanges.
* Joint Degree Programs: Israeli universities should be encouraged to develop joint degree programs with leading universities around the world.
* Promote a Multicultural Society: The government and civil society should actively promote a vision of Israel as a multicultural and inclusive society that welcomes people from all backgrounds.
By implementing this comprehensive and detailed action plan, Israel can not only reverse the current "brain drain" but also transform it into a "brain gain," securing its future as a global hub of innovation, talent, and creativity. This will require a long-term commitment from all sectors of Israeli society, but the future prosperity and security of the nation depend on it.