Every year, the Israeli government proudly publishes the
number of new immigrants. Under Israel’s law of return, anyone with at least
one Jewish grandparent is entitled to automatic Israeli citizenship.
اضافة اعلان
The law of return is core to the Zionist project of settling
the land of Israel with diaspora Jews and providing a haven for Jews worldwide.
In Hebrew, Jewish immigration to Israel is called “Aliyah,” meaning “going up
or ascent.” The government organizes flights full of Jewish immigrants, which
are often greeted with fanfare when they touch down in Tel
Aviv.
Many have chosen to return to their home countries
The government doesn’t disclose the number of Israelis that
emigrate from the country every year. In Hebrew, emigration is known as
“yerida,” meaning “going down or descent.” In recent years, more Israelis than
ever have chosen to leave the country and either return to their home countries
or establish new roots in other foreign countries. Many Israelis of European
origin, known as Ashkenazim, have dual citizenship and thus have options to
live in other countries. Israelis that have made aliyah almost uniformly retain
their former citizenship, making return straightforward.
Many chose to settle in North America or Europe. It’s essential to remember that these numbers include Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, who leave the country for different reasons than Jewish citizens.
A touchy subject
Emigration has always been a touchy subject for Israeli
authorities. From 1948 to 1961, the Israeli government imposed harsh restrictions on emigration through an exit visa, which was often denied. By 1967, Middle East
scholar Joseph Massad notes, more than 180,000 Israelis had left the country.
This trend has quietly continued to this day. In 2003, the Israeli government
estimated that more than 750,000 Israelis (out of roughly 6 million) lived
permanently outside the country. Many chose to settle in North America or
Europe. It’s essential to remember that these numbers include Palestinians with
Israeli citizenship, who leave the country for different reasons than Jewish
citizens.
Giving up on the country
The current wave of emigration has been closely associated
with the country’s recent political shifts and is much more focused on Jewish
Israelis who are giving up on the country.
With the election of Israel’s most right-wing government in
history and its program of highly-controversial judicial reform, which
would entrench a rightist hold on the governance mechanism for decades to come,
more and more Israelis are choosing to leave. Ironically, Israel is close
to securing a visa waiver with the United States. Historically,
Israelis have been attracted to life in the US. Visa-free travel could result
in a spike in Israelis attempting to set up permanent lives there.
One Israeli returning to his native Mexico, recently
interviewed by the Times of Israel, captured the sentiment of many
leaving the country. “In the past year, with all the craziness and everything,
I realized where the country was going.” Daniel Schleider said. “And after the
recent elections, my wife – who had been unconvinced – was the one who took the
step and said now she understood where the public is going and what life is
going to be like in the country. You could call it the straw that broke the
camel’s back.”
The sentiment that Israel is heading towards a failed
democracy or an autocratic right-wing settler state is particularly hard for
the country’s vaunted technology sector.
Several of Israel’s most powerful tech executives have
either threatened to move their companies out of the country or have already
moved over the judicial reform of the current government. In February, the
founder of the Tel Aviv-based artificial intelligence transcription startup and
multibillion-dollar company Verbit announced that he would move his
company to Texas and stop paying taxes in response to the government’s
efforts to undermine judicial independence. Other prominent tech CEOs and
investors have promised to follow suit when and if the reforms are
passed.
After widespread protests against the judicial reform and
even staunch warnings from vital allies like the US, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu agreed to pause Knesset votes on the reform package and try to
compromise with opposition parties. This has proven temporary, as Netanyahu
recently announced that his government would continue to press forward
after compromise agreements failed.
Touting recent investments
Sensing the risk to Israel’s tech sector, Netanyahu has been
touting recent investments by Intel into his chip research centers in
Israel. This might end up amounting to standing under a waterfall with a
bucket. Prominent Israeli tech companies can easily find new ecosystems
worldwide. If the judicial reforms result in a forecasted international
backlash against the Israeli government, we will almost certainly see a real
exodus of Israeli talent from the country regardless of investment by the likes
of Intel and Google.
The current wave of emigration has been closely associated with the country’s recent political shifts and is much more focused on Jewish Israelis who are giving up on the country.
It is tempting to argue that the current wave of emigration
from Israel results from the current government and its ideas about judicial
reform.
However, the history of the Zionist project reveals deep
discontent among Jewish communities worldwide and inside Israel since Zionism
was first fashioned.
The current government is merely a symptom of the much
larger issue of the failure of Zionism to provide an equitable, safe, and
thriving homeland for the Jewish people. While the Israeli government will
continue to do its best to repress stories of emigration, Israelis are taking
matters into their own hands and leaving.
Joseph Dana is a writer based in South Africa and
the Middle East. He has reported from Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo,
Istanbul, and Abu Dhabi. He was formerly editor-in-chief of emerge85,
a media project based in Abu Dhabi exploring change in emerging markets.
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