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October 7 prompted some Jews to leave Israel. For other countries, the country provides asylum to protect global anti-Semitism

On November 22, 2023, Chantal and Nicky Young closed the front door of London for the last time and boarded a flight to Israel.

The family awaited a sign in Tel Aviv’s arrival, saying, “Grandmother and grandpa.” However, a person who was not there was the youngest of their five children: Nathaniel.

The 20-year-old was murdered by Hamas on October 7. and serve with the IDF on the Gaza border.

“Nathanel’s dream is to make us Aliyah. He’s been looking for property for us,” his French mother Chantal told CNN.

When Nathaniel was killed, the young man was planning his move. Chantal, 62, said: “We were shocked. “For a long time, I wouldn’t say my son passed away, I would say ‘He went on a trip’ because it was hard for me to accept. ”

Nathanel’s grieving parents quickly decided to move forward by dating their actions, and despite the war, he decided to realize his dream.

Nikki monk Shangda Young (Center) is surrounded by their family. Their youngest child, Nathanel (photo in the white t-shirt on the front) was killed by Hamas on October 7, 2003.

The young men were thousands of Jews who had violated Aria in the two years since the brutal Hamas-led attack. Some are motivated to be a necessity to unite with Israel, while others are eager to increase shelter from their own anti-Semitism.

But flow is not only one direction. As Jews from all over the world moved to Israel, many Israelis left the country to settle elsewhere, finding themselves unable to live in ongoing conflicts, economic challenges, and increasingly polarized societies.

According to Sergio Dellapergola, a demographer and professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the result is learning the migration to and from Israel during his career, a net immigration deficit, which suggests a wider disorientation following the October 7, 2023 attack.

“Israel has always been an immigrant country,” he told CNN. But in 2023, official statistics show that what he said is “negative migration balance” is rare, and he talks about data from the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). About 80,000 Israelites left, accounting for 15,000 in October alone. After that, about 25,000 people have returned to Israel, and the country welcomes 30,000 new immigrants. The result is a net deficit of 25,000, Dellapergola said.

Although these may not sound like big numbers, Israel is a small country with an overall population of over 10 million, of which 7.2 million are Jewish, according to Dellapergola.

CBS has just released further data related to the migration from and from Israel in September 2025, which he said is similar to 2024.

“We think this is our country”

“The worst possible situation has happened, so I’m not afraid,” Chantal said. About two years ago, leaving life in the war to head to a country. “Every country has problems, it’s not a perfect country, but we think it’s our country.”

Nicky, 65, who has worked in customer service for many years, admitted he was “more worried” but added: “It’s the support of our families who have lost loved ones in Israel and we still so far.”

Yocheved Ruttenberg, 24, lives in Texas and heard news of the attack on October 7. “I can’t operate,” she told CNN. “I was like, ‘I need to be in Israel.'”

Two weeks later, she flew to Israel to provide 23 large duffel bags to those affected by the attack and purchased them with funds she and a friend.

Yocheved Ruttenberg arrived in Israel in October 2023 with duffel bags filled with donated goods to those affected by the attack. -Yocheved Ruttenberg

Yocheved Ruttenberg arrived in Israel in October 2023 with duffel bags filled with donated goods to those affected by the attack. -Yocheved Ruttenberg

“Three days before returning to the flight, I called my job and quit,” she said. “I spent my whole life in Texas, but I couldn’t leave. I saw a huge need for volunteer opportunities that match people around the world. Everyone wants to help, no one knows what to do.”

Today, Ruttenberg lives in Tel Aviv and runs a thriving organization with 45,000 people interested in Israeli volunteer opportunities. She is still back in the United States but says she notices a change in mood there.

“I was very aware that the atmosphere had changed dramatically,” she said of a recent trip. “I wore David’s big star on my sweater and suddenly realized that I wasn’t surrounded by people who supported Israel.”

“Impossible” political situation

Jewish immigrants have been largely persecuted for centuries. Although the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 may be considered the end of wandering, some now question whether the Jewish homeland is their best place.

Over the past two years, thousands of Israelis have chosen to relocate to places where air strikes sirens, terrorist attacks, mandatory military service and anti-government protests no longer play a role in daily life.

But while many Israeli immigrants enjoy new lives in Cyprus, Canada and Thailand, few are ready to speak publicly, citing distrust of the media and fear of anti-Israeli sentiment.

One exception, however, is that when Hamas attacked, Israeli student Noy Katsman was intern in Leipzig, Germany. Kesman’s brother Hayim was the murdered man, an academic and peace activist murdered by Kibbutz Holit near Gaza.

Hayim Katsman (R) was murdered by Hamas on October 7. His sibling Noy took a photo with his mother on the left and now lives in Germany. - Noy Katsman

Hayim Katsman (R) was murdered by Hamas on October 7. His sibling Noy took a photo with his mother on the left and now lives in Germany. – Noy Katsman

Katsman, 29, is non-binary and has now applied for citizenship in Germany, a country where his grandmother fled in the 1930s.

“I don’t want to leave, but the political situation is impossible, and there is increasing discrimination against leftists, activists and Palestinians,” Kateman told CNN.

“There are a lot of articles about my brother being a peace activist, and then all the comments are so annoying, saying he deserves it, and it’s very naive,” said Casman.

“It’s obvious that the state of Israel is using our grief to create more grief, and I don’t want this. I think it’s awful. Someone wrote to me and said ‘You don’t sound like a brother was killed on October 7.’ They want to have our narrative.”

Still, Katsman has a lasting connection with the family as they visit regularly and are studying for a master’s degree in cultural and gender studies at the Open University of Israel.

“If there is peace, I will go back tomorrow,” Kateman said. “If there is a conflict, people get justice and human rights, of course I would love to go back. I love this land, I love the people, I love culture – but I don’t love the country.”

Seeking security in Israel

For others, seeing events of anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere, Israel feels like a safe haven. Mirna Funk, 44, a German Jewish journalist and writer, applied to produce Aliyah with her daughter. She told CNN that she had been warning of anti-Semitism in the German media, but things got worse.

“I’ve been watching this shift and surveillance for 10 years, so I learned everything I’ve witnessed right after October 7 and it’s just going to get worse,” she said.

Journalist and writer Mirna Funk moved to Israel with her daughter a few months after October 7 because her native country in Germany no longer feels safe. - mirna funk

Journalist and writer Mirna Funk moved to Israel with her daughter a few months after October 7 because her native country in Germany no longer feels safe. – mirna funk

“I’m in a weekly death threat, but it’s not safe. I don’t want (my daughter) to be isolated in a Jewish school, but it’s obvious she can’t go to public schools anymore.”

While she was still working in the German media, Funk now lives in Jaffa, a mixed city of Jewish and Arabs, where her daughter studied in a “coexistence school” with children from two backgrounds learning at the same time. “Life is very free,” she said.

Democratic statistician Dellapergola of Hebrew University stressed that the situation was “very complicated”, especially since Israel was blamed for social divisions before October 7, as demonstrated by months of protests against the Prime Minister of Benjamin Nenininininininininininininininininininininis, the most appropriate government for the most right-wing politics and its policies in Israel’s history.

“You need to look at the present in a long-term vision and understand the immigration movement to and from Israel,” he said.

“The overall image is that Aria is fundamentally an ideological choice – hoping to rejoin the people, religion and thinking about the future of children and the pressure of anti-Semitism.”

Although this is true in some cases, his research has led him to conclude that economic considerations are often more important. He said: “The main engine of immigration to Israel has proven to be the economic situation of the country of origin. If the situation in Israel is better, Israel is more attractive.

Yigal Palmor, head of international relations at the Israeli Jewish institution, promoted Aliyah, who told CNN: “People have a lot of motivations to come to Israel. Anti-Semitism is one of them, but that certainly is not the only motivation.” Palmor confirmed Aliyah’s decline, but said he expected it to be “more obvious.”

“Many people are reluctant to come at the moment, but others feel the need to be around us, be Israelis and contribute to the country when they need it most.”

Dellapergola believes that the ever-changing migration pictures are part of the wider uncertainty that Jews around the world feel.

“Everyone is not satisfied and afraid, thinking there are better ranches elsewhere, but that’s not the case. The West has no obligation to reserve, no missiles, no alarms. On the other hand, you read about the incredible anti-Semitism aggression of Western countries.”

“The Jews felt very disoriented.”

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