A Growing Majority of the World’s Jews Are Israelis

A Jewish friend of mine made what I thought was an interesting observation the other day. We were chatting about world affairs, and he pointed out that to those who hate Jews, we are all Israelis — that those who carry out antisemitic attacks on Jews in synagogues or at Jewish gatherings, be it in Europe, North America or Australia, make no distinction between Jews and Israelis.

In fact, the distinction between Jews and Israelis has always been a blurred one in the Arab/Muslim world. The original 1988 Hamas policy document, for example, mentions Jews, not Israelis.

One of the October 7 attackers boasted to his parents in a phone recording found after the Hamas attack that he “killed Jews”: “Your son killed Jews … Mom, your son is a hero.” And antisemitism, including Holocaust denial and genocidal threats, has been a cornerstone of Iranian government policy for decades.

At the same time, it occurred to me that when it comes to demographics, a growing majority of the world’s Jews are in fact Israelis.

According to the Israel Central Bureau of statistics (CBS), the world Jewish population is about 15.7 million — still one million less than the pre-Holocaust number. (The numbers can vary, depending on the criteria used to define who is a Jew, but these figures are generally reliable).

Close to one half of the Jews in the world, 7.2 million out of a total Israeli population of over 10 million, now live in Israel. If we add the thousands of Israelis who immigrated from the Former Soviet Union who are not halachically Jewish, the number is even more impressive.

Moreover, the CBS also notes that virtually all of the growth in the world Jewish population is taking place in Israel. This is because the Jewish fertility rate in Israel is much higher than for Diaspora Jews.

Much of what I have said so far is not new. But what is rarely mentioned is the fact that a growing proportion of the Jewish Diaspora is now made up of Israelis.

As in all democratic societies, Israeli citizens are free to come and go, and emigration has always been a feature of Israeli population statistics, even during pre-state Mandatory Palestine. A report by the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research, notes that one million Israelis (Israeli nationals, and their children, including those born abroad) now live outside Israel. Two thirds live in the US and Canada, the remaining third in Europe.

While substantial numbers have emigrated to the UK and Germany, others have made their way to smaller countries, countries in which Jewish numbers had been declining because of low birth rates and emigration. Israelis now represent close to half of the Jewish population of Norway and Finland and over 20% of the Jewish communities in Bulgaria, Ireland, Spain and Denmark.

Yet, here is the strange thing. These numbers are somewhat fluid. Some Israelis return, even after an absence of several years. For example, in 2025, 24,500 Israelis returned to Israel. This urge to return is particularly evident during time of war, a period of maximum personal risk. Why? According to Dan Perry of The Jerusalem Post, this need to return during war is based on a mixture of patriotism and Zionist messaging.

I think there is a simpler explanation, especially now. At a time when Jews are under attack everywhere, Israel is the only place where they can fight back.

Jacob Sivak, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is a retired professor, University of Waterloo.