High cost of living in Israel forcing many Jewish settlers to emigrate: Report

According to the report, published by the Hebrew-language Israel Hayom daily newspaper, the bleak economic prospects in Israel have prompted a significant number of Jewish immigrants to think about changing their place of residence.

The immigrants maintain that living in the Israeli-occupied territories is not necessarily their ultimate destiny.

Also, those who have sought for years to immigrate to Israel have now changed their minds and say they are no longer willing to live in a place where prices are prohibitive.

The report went on to say that among the appalling dilemmas that a large number of families are now facing in the occupied lands is that unaffordable prices are no laughing matter, and people should consider turning back to their home countries or moving to another country where the economic situation is fairly stable.

Israel Hayom, citing an Israeli couple in their 40s, said they would most likely leave Israel for somewhere else within the next 3 months.

“We tried our best to settle here; but sky-high prices have made life impossible. Simply put, this is not our place to live in,” said the father of the family, who has three children, as he pointed to economic pressures in Israel.

Back in May, a survey of young Israeli adults found that nearly half of the population in the occupied territories is not optimistic about the future of the Israeli entity, while more than one-third of people are thinking about emigration to find jobs and improve their lives.

The Israel Hayom daily newspaper described the findings as “worrying” and wrote that 33% of Israeli youths are considering emigration from the occupied lands.

Issues such as rising living costs, security situation, and social divisions are among other reasons for young Israeli adults to mull over leaving the occupied territories.

The poll also highlighted that 40% of the respondents have cited rising costs for such a potential decision, while 22% of those asked have blamed poor security situation.

Social divisions have been described as the main reason for emigration for 18% of those surveyed.

Many scholars and writers have already pointed to the theory of “Collapse from Within” regarding the future of Israel, given the three factors of economic crisis, poor security situation and social divisions.

There has been intense public anger in recent months in the Israeli-occupied territories over rising costs, after the price of both gasoline and electricity, as well as basic goods, went up.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living index, the coastal city of Tel Aviv is ranked the most expensive city in the world.

Tel Aviv rose to the top spot from fifth place last year, beating out Paris and Singapore, which were tied for second place.