Yoni Goldstein: Jews, everywhere, appear to have moving on their minds

People participate in the UJA's Annual Walk With Israel event in Toronto, Sunday May 25, 2025. Photo by Peter J. Thompson /National Post

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The Hebrew word for emigration is “yeridah,” which translates to “descent.” Its connotation is not kind. In Israel, emigration is often judged as a failure of the individual, rather than the state. Yeridah is a word used to suggest that the émigré couldn’t handle the Israeli lifestyle, namely, conscription in the Israeli army and the economic and social difficulties that come with living in a Jewish state surrounded by belligerent enemies. The word signifies a profound spiritual failure that leads to personal, more than communal, degeneration.

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By contrast, the Hebrew term for an immigrant, “oleh,” translates to “one who has ascended,” implying a sort of metaphysical growth that is inherent to living in Israel, bestowed upon an individual in the literal first moments one moves to the country or simply announces their plans to do so. To come to Israel is to grow; to leave Israel is to decline.

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Israel has historically had fewer emigrants than immigrants. Except for brief periods in the 1950s and 1980s when emigration spiked amid intensifying conflicts and economic stagnation, immigrants to Israel have almost always outnumbered Israeli emigrants in any given year. But since 2023, the data indicates the opposite is occurring — the number of people leaving Israel for prolonged periods now outnumbers new people coming in.

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Various factions in Israel have laid blame for the change at the feet of the government, the ultra-Orthodox, the security situation and economic fragility, among other explanations. Certainly, extended military service and spiking reserve duty that keeps people away from their families for increasingly longer periods are factors.

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Whatever the specific reason for any individual, though, the numbers don’t lie: Israelis are leaving — descending — of their own volition at alarming rates, and with the country’s protracted wars and political strife there is no end to the trend in sight.

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At the same time, an increasing number of Jews in Canada, the United States and Europe are also talking about moving. Skyrocketing antisemitism in our politics, education and institutions has many diaspora Jews seriously rethinking their relationships to their home countries, finding that the grass appears greener on the other side — whether that grass is in Israel or Florida. One man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is even trying to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to welcome Canadian Jews as refugees fleeing the antisemitism they experience in Canada.

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The fact that Jews across the world are having trouble seeing their current homeland as their future homeland is not especially surprising. Since October 7, many of us have been attacked for being Jewish and Zionist. We see the writing on the wall, often quite literally. We might expect Israelis to be used to this kind of life, more battle-hardened and inclined to stick with their investment. But there is a tipping point for everyone, even Israelis; a moment when continuing to live life as one has now feels unwise. When that happens — wherever it happens — it’s natural to start looking for friendlier, more peaceful climes.