I don't think so... Selling out their country and people for material wealth. And "this is a population we would have liked to see in the country". Let the traitors leave - we're better off without them. An poor, uneducated Zionist is worth 10x more than an educated person who sells out his country for material benefits. The problem is education.

Give me a break, if these people had their priorities straight they could have careers and lives in the direction they want this country to hed instead of leaving to live "the good life somewhere else". Money and honor are never satisfied in this life. Higher goals, character development and a Jewish life can be lived anywhere but only in our homeland can this development be reached at it's highest level. In essence relinquishing your Israeli identity may be equivilent to discarding Jewish identity, haval!

if about 800 native-born Israelis left, think about the thousands of olim who come here but for whatever reason, can't make it too. Are there figures kept for this? I have known (in my 8 years) in Israel many people who have left, Itell them to write to the ministry of absorption citing the reason for their not being able to stay, not one has. It's a sad state.

Read this: My fellow Israelis, our long national nightmare continues. We have no Constitution. Our tiny state is a government of a few men and not a government of laws. Here only a few people rule. They will lead longer happier lives away from this place.

Some of these Israelis grew up abroad and don't even speak Hebrew.

How can we motivate smart, ambitious young people to stay in Israel when our political leaders inspire only revulsion rather than patriotism? Why would anyone sacrifice "success" when presented with the selfish self-interest of our leadership? What can we expect when many of our academics are leading Israel-bashers; obviously not patriotism.

Lets see.Me and my family immigrated to Israel from USSR in 1971.I was 11 years of age.Served in IDF in elite unit.After my service coudn't find decent job.Came to US in 1983.Married ,2 children.Have my own buisiness.Just came back from Israel(2 days ago).Love the country but 80% of population ...cmo hara al a cvish...To blame someone,who wants better life and call them traitors?When Israelis,who live in Israel,will respect each other,then we can talk the talk.Living 12 years in Israel, serving 3 years in the army,6 months in Lebanon in reservs(1982) hardly makes me a traitor.Look at your own backyard.

What is ynet wining about,being in amsterdam right now i meet the cream of the crop exisraelis here. This is a proud achievement of secular zionism,there is no connection or reason to want be in israel. And reading the news from abroad, our esteemed leaders do not want the land either.So it is becoming very clear that secular zionism and its education are creating its own demise. So maybey ynet and all its enlightend freethinking liberals can sart writing who is going to be the last one to turn of the light on ben gourion airport.Maybey you can start a organizasition of yerida to uganda were your founding father herzl wanted you in the first place .Yust know that as soon as you are outside of israel,you are looked upon as jews not as israelis. And that is a real bummer isn"t it.

More olim come to Israel from the United States, England, Germany, and France than Israelis who choose to give up their citizenship to reside in those some countries. And those olim are just as educated and skilled in their trades, if not more so, than the Israelis who leave. What's more, those olim mean more to the country on on ideological level than a former Israeli who chooses a life elsewhere. We gain far more than we lose every year.

The state and the people of Israel need to take action to change the self-destructive taxation and bureaucratic systems, which reward graft, punish innovation, turn honesty into a fatal error, and suppress growth. So long as Israelis keep telling their friends in the diaspora that you can't make a living here, more will not come, and many will be forced to leave. This is far more urgent than Kassams. Olmert, pay attention!

I wish to tell a story that is both true and sad and reflects the general feeling of a very large portion of the younger generation in Israel today. Four children, All born 4th generation in Israel with a combined total of 10 children themselves born 5th generation in Israel have left the country, that makes a total of 18 citizens. All from stable middle class families, all with a good education, all with deep roots in the land, all served in combat units in IDF, two of them in elite commando units. Why did they leave. Because of the way in which this country conducts itself politically, because of the way this country acts towards its citizens, because of the incessant failures at all levels when nobody pays the price, because of corruption in government, by corruption I mean the hand washes hand attitude, the scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, incompetent ministers are appointed who in turn appoint incompetent directors and underlings. Appointments made on the basis of party affiliation and heirarchical position in the party rather than on suitability and professional training. Last but not least, the disgusting attitude of the haredim towards the State and the fact that their only purpose in government is to milk the treasury for as much as they can get and to try as much as possible to impose on this country a form of theocracy. These good citizens, and many more like them left for all the above stated reasons. Are we better off without them ? Are they to be labelled traitors ? They are indeed the cream on the coffee whereas the politicians and the haredim are the dregs at the bottom of the cup. It is time for Israelis to wake up and understand who is leaving and why they are leaving and to change the reasons for them leaving rather than blame them. As a society Israel is a sinking ship. It is not too late to plug the holes in the hull.

Perhaps they didn't want to die in a car crash caused by some selfish idiot desperately trying to overtake another car before swerving across a few lanes to take their exit. "Got to get ahead, got to get ahead!!! No one's in front of me... I'm in front of everyone else!!.... I'm the only one that matters, only me, only me, only me!". That applies not only to car drivers of course but to most of the people here in every small interaction they have with everyone every day. Kodem yordim... it's a simple rule, let people off the train before you hordes attempt to get on... do you practice it though? No, for the most part you don't. YOU'VE got to get on the train before anyone else.... YOU matter more than everyone else. YOU'RE special and nobody else is. The horrible selfishness of people here is what drives people who can get away.. to get away. That and the absolute lack of service everywhere. I was in a supermarket the other day, it took me about one and a half minutes to pick up the three things I went in to get. Then I spent 30 minutes... a full 30 minutes... standing in line to get through the till. 8 closed tills, 3 open, around 50 shoppers trying to get through. Everyone has tokens, some of them aren't valid, they're for a different type of yogurt, they've expired, they're for another shop... everything has to be an argument. Seriously, I've yet to go shopping in this country and see an orderly line of people going through the till without any 'issues' arising. Oh and heaven forbid the supermarket will employ enough people to keep all the tills open when the shop is busy enough to require it. Everything here is about the short term profit to the self. I've been here for 4 and a half years and it becomes more and more difficult everyday to stay. The horrible selfishness of almost everyone in the country... I really don't want my children to grow up thinking that they have to take advantage of every little thing, to take every possible shortcut to grab and elbow and shove and fight everyone all the time. This really isn't a place for civilised, decent people. Keep acting the way you act... call them unpatriotic if you want... or start acting like people and give decent folks a reason to stay. Here's what life is. Life is a hundred little interactions with other people every day. Outside of Israel (in the developed world at least) most of those interactions are pleasant. D'you really think that patriotism is reason enough to stay and put up with the attitude of people here? And still I haven't mentioned the corruption. That's documented well enough already though. I'd be surprised if I see another year here. I'm educated, good job, earn well (not as well as I would abroad), pay lots of tax (more than I would abroad). The money thing doesn't bother me though, I'd gladly earn less and pay more just to be here.... except that I just can't stand the selfishness of most people here. Other friends of mine, who emigrated here from the US, are looking to go back before summer. Many Israeli born friends are looking for opportunities abroad also. It's a sad state of affairs for sure, but what d'you expect? Here's the thing... not being a fryar doesn't necessarily have to mean being a @sshole.

Indeed Talmudistan is not a very attractive place... I moved to Israel to live in a jewish country, however, Jewish country does no mean that I need to live by the dictatorship of Rabis or the nationalistic madness of the settlers. I love Israel but I cannot blame those that are leaving. They leave with for a strong reason, Judaism is more than praying...

at today's TIMES UK. Article on group of quality Olim on the way here TODAY. Let's hope they stay and are happy here. I think they're great. Whoever wants to leave SHOULD leave, as even we who love it here, find it hard. Leave? No way!

This article would have made me very angry a few years ago. And as much as I love my country, I am thinking more and more about moving back to the UK when my children have finished their army service. This country has turned into a farce, there is no proper direction, the working people are taxed to death to cover mistakes made by others, and quite frankly, there is nothing that makes me want to stay here. And it pains me deeply because I love the people and I love Israel, but it's all going in the wrong direction.

Normally I would ask such people to do me a favor and leave the country, but they've already done it! And for that I thank them. The presence of such people in our country only weakens us.

The cream of the crop also makes aliyah from these exact countries: http://www.nefeshbnefesh.org/ They are FAR more educated on average than those who leave Israel. AND are imbued with idealism.

Your talkback was better than the article. And sadly, very true.

You couldn't put it better That is exactly what the problem. This has nothing to do with patriotism or not. It has to do with the backward bureaucracy, upsurd taxation, nepotism, and rampant corruption in this potential wealthy nation. We have achieve a lot in 100 years, but there is a long way still to go.

with the ruling trio Olmert-Peres-Peretz? Who wants to live in an Israel where the left rule the country and make crazy decisions on behalf of everyone? Who wants to live in an Israel where when every country in the world, besides the US, are working on Israel's dismantling you STILL have groups like Btselem and Peace Now giving them excuses to do so? Reign in your radicals and I will be the first to move back!!!

Inspiration is not a word that can be used in tandem with the word politician, in general and specifically in Israel, even with the negative leaning that you gave it. The root of all Israel's problems lies in the politicians and the political system. When the system is radically changed, not cosmetically, when religion and State are seperated, when all citizens are treated equally and all citizens have a responsible attitude towards the State, then and only then will Israel change and people will wish to remain in the country.

Clearly if they have decided to not only permanently leave Israel to also to give up their citizenship they arent the cream - they are sour milk. The cream of the crop are the boys and girls who serve in Tzahal and then go on to contribute to Israeli society - not abandon it. Plenty of Israelis have "made it" in Israel and have not had to abandon their birthright to do so.

their citizenship. This story is not news. People are going to leave, people are going to arrive, people are going to die and people are going to be born.

You still don't get it.Money is a small part of it.Human relations is more important.Next time look at the mirror.Even your sceen name reflectsforeign culture.Find something in Hebrew...like merahef...

Israel has been built thanks to idealists who sacrified their comfort for an ideal. Some here prefer to sacrify ideal to comfort. Well, that's it. For those who stay, the construction of Israel is not finished. Let us continue :)

i'm living comfortably in australia. i've considered moving to Israel many times and what stops me is total lack of truth, law, order and totally open corruption in government, police, etc. in Israel. I am frightened to risk the life of my child into the hands of olmert and co, who would not hesitate to waste it for no reason and cause. i'm freightened of what may G-D forbid happen there in the near future if things are going to be the way they are now. i want to wait for better time.

David! I bet that none of those olim from US,UK,france and Germany gave back their original passports.If,for some reason,they want to go back,they can do that any time.And most of them have property and money back in their country of origin.

so many good points raised here, sadly I don't think anyone has the inclination to do anything about it, אתה לא מבין אחי, תשמע, כך זה - סליחה - טלפון - - - ata lo mevin achi, tishma, kacha ze slicha, telefon...........................................