Israeli exodus: 60,000 settlers fled last year on one-way tickets
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A survey by C-Marketing has found that about 40% of Israeli settlers still living in the occupied territories are seriously considering emigration.
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Passengers wait in line to board a flight to occupied Palestine at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens, Greece, on October 10, 2023 (AP)
Nearly 60,000 Israelis left "Israel" last year and did not return — more than double the number who left in 2023, Israeli publication Haaretz has reported.
According to "Israel’s" Central Bureau of Statistics, 81% of those who departed were young people and families, mostly between the ages of 25 and 44. Meanwhile, a survey by C-Marketing found that about 40% of Israeli settlers still living in the occupied territories are seriously considering emigration.
The reasons behind the numbers are becoming increasingly clear:
- Prolonged state of war;
- Attempts by the occupation government to undermine judicial independence;
- Rising cost of living, which makes life in "Israel" increasingly unsustainable;
- Brighter future elsewhere.
Voices of doubt
Riki Cohen, 56, a writer, poet, and editor living in Tel Aviv, has been contemplating emigration for over a decade. “Every time I hear someone has left, I get very angry," she said.
Cohen says she is losing faith in "Israel’s" future, pointing to growing insecurity, political instability, and economic hardship. She dreams of a life she calls “normal", one without constant fear and uncertainty.
She fears that "Israel" will become a dictatorship, "and one way or another, what's happening now will bring down on us something similar to annihilation."
Her home has no safe room, and she vividly remembers the terror during missile sirens.
Another woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she has long considered emigration, but now the thought feels more urgent and is a more socially acceptable topic of discussion.
The anonymous woman declared that as long as the occupation continues, true democracy cannot be achieved.
Though she hasn't yet leaped, she is convinced she will leave.
'Israel is spiraling' amid Gaza war, internal fractures: The Nation
A compelling opinion piece published by Israeli writer Ori Goldberg for The Nation on Monday paints a grim picture of "Israel's" current trajectory, arguing that the occupation is caught in a self-destructive spiral driven by its war on Gaza and extremist political factions within its own leadership.
Goldberg, an Israeli political analyst, asserts that senior officials like Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are openly pursuing policies of permanent occupation and the removal of Palestinians, both in Gaza and beyond. "What could 'removal' mean but genocide?" Goldberg asks, warning that such rhetoric exposes the underlying reality of Israel's campaign.
While much of Israeli society supports military action under the pretext of "security", Goldberg notes a widening gap between the far-right's explicit calls for ethnic cleansing and the general public's need to justify violence through more palatable narratives. "Security, in this context, means that Israelis are allowed to kill as many people as deemed necessary [including civilians] to keep their own lives safe," he writes.
Goldberg also highlights growing internal dissent, pointing to signs of disillusionment within Israeli society and the military. He cites Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir's recent warnings about endangering captives and his unprecedented call to draft thousands of ultra-Orthodox men as indicators of eroding trust in the government.
