Overview
- The Tel Aviv University analysis, published Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, found about 90,922 Israelis spent three months or more abroad in 2025 and that 268,509 left for at least three months between 2023 and 2025.
- The study uses a three-month absence measure as a proxy because official 12-month migration data for 2025 are not yet released, and reports a 0.96 correlation between the two metrics.
- Based on that correlation the authors estimate 45,000–50,000 people will meet Israel’s official 12-month migrant definition for 2025, with final 12-month statistics expected in 2027.
- The researchers say departures jumped after late-2022 political turmoil and the October 7 attacks and remain concentrated among doctors, PhD holders, engineers and academics, raising brain-drain concerns.
- Authors warn of a possible 'snowball' effect in which further political, security, or economic shocks could accelerate emigration, and some lawmakers have blamed government policy for the surge.