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Over the last three years, a record number of Israelis have been leaving their country as the wars multiply and Israeli politics shift right. Next month's elections, which will determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stays in power, could also decide whether those who left return or the exodus continues. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.
HAGAI AGMON-SNIR: My name is Hagai Agmon-Snir. I was born in Israel. My mother also was born in Palestine because it was before '48. My father came from Lithuania just before the Holocaust. He and another two of the family are the only one who survived.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: But at the age of 65, this former brain researcher who worked to encourage dialogue between Jewish and Arab communities in Jerusalem has left his country for good. He speaks to me from his new home in Italy.
AGMON-SNIR: We learn Italian, (speaking Italian). For us, it's totally new - beautiful language.
BEARDSLEY: Agmon-Snir says he was always an optimist, but things deteriorated in recent years. Even before the war with Hamas, he says Israel was shifting right with what he calls neofascist religious parties being elected to Parliament. In 2022, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to undermine the independence of the Israeli judiciary, a move that drew massive protests. Then in October 2023, came the Hamas attack. Agmon-Snir says Israel was justified in responding, but he feared it would go too far.
AGMON-SNIR: Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened. The response, it had so much part of revenge into it, documented revenge by all people, by soldiers who put themselves in video and show the revenge, by officers, by the heads of the army, by the main politicians of the coalition was talking about doing crimes against humanity as something standard that they want to do.
BEARDSLEY: Israel says it is acting in self-defense and categorically denies any charges of war crimes. But Agmon-Snir says the country has become poisoned, and he had to leave. He is not alone. Statistics show a significant increase in the number of Israelis leaving their country in the last three years.
ITAI ATER: Hi.
BEARDSLEY: Hello.
ATER: (Inaudible) Itai. Nice to meet you (ph).
BEARDSLEY: Eleanor.
I meet economist Itai Ater, one of the authors of a study by researchers at Tel Aviv University which shows immigration of people leaving for at least 12 months was up 50% over the past three years. Around 50,000 Israelis have departed each year. Ater says it's also significant who is leaving.
ATER: We see that there is a big jump among physicians, tech people, academics, and this is a big concern because the Israel economy is pretty much based on human capital. And if we are missing and those people are leaving, this could be a big blow to the economy, to the future of the Israeli state.
AUTOMATED VOICE: (Non-English language spoken).
BEARDSLEY: On a top floor of a glass and steel building in a Tel Aviv business district, I meet lawyer Liam Schwartz, who helps tech experts relocate to the U.S.
LIAM SCHWARTZ: This is a beautiful view of Tel Aviv. You can see how much it's growing, also.
BEARDSLEY: His high-rise looks out over glittering buildings and the Mediterranean Sea. Yet Schwartz says there's a river of Israelis leaving. He says high-tech workers serve heavily in the army reserves, and after nearly three years of war, they are tired and scared for their families.
SCHWARTZ: Israelis have, as you know, just traditionally been able to put up with a lot of militarization, service in the army, that kind of thing. And when your child enlists to the IDF, it's actually a source of pride. But this is a new situation here.
BEARDSLEY: Israelis are also heading to places like Japan, Thailand and countries across Europe where, because of family killed in the Holocaust, many are able to get second passports. Travel agent Tali Teperberg has many young techy clients. She says they can work from anywhere, and they're not coming back.
TALI TEPERBERG: It's not a future for young people. We Israelis are very hardworking. We know how to make money, how to work, but you need peace for life.
BEARDSLEY: Tel Aviv University's Ater says the stakes are huge for October's election, which will decide whether Netanyahu stays or goes.
ATER: Many people are waiting in a sense for the outcomes of the elections. And if things won't change, many people are really considering seriously to leave. And furthermore, those who are outside won't come back, for sure.
BEARDSLEY: Agmon-Snir says he will continue the struggle, but from Italy.
AGMON-SNIR: What we have now in Israel is fascist parties that are getting legitimacy. I don't see how Israel can save itself.
BEARDSLEY: And if it does, he says, it will be well beyond his lifetime. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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