Anyone following the news in recent weeks could hardly have missed the excitement surrounding Israelis abroad rushing home to cast their ballots. Tens of thousands are trying to make it back to Israel ahead of the election, by any means necessary and at almost any cost.
But anyone able to look beyond the noise may also see a hidden answer to Israel's demographic concerns: a variable that is almost entirely absent from the discussion, yet could have a greater impact than almost anything else on the country's future. That variable is aliyah.
Israel's demographic debate suffers from a major blind spot. It assumes that the country's population is essentially fixed and that the balance of power between different sectors of society will be determined solely by birth rates. That view overlooks one of the most consequential tools available to Zionism since the establishment of the State of Israel.
If there is one development capable of reshaping Israeli society, the economy and even the political map within just a few years, it is a large wave of aliyah by liberal, Zionist Jews from the Diaspora, including Israelis who have emigrated and choose to return. Yet despite its potential, the issue is barely present in the election debate and receives little attention from most political parties.
In recent weeks, The Times of Israel reported growing interest among US Jews in opening aliyah applications amid rising antisemitism and political developments in New York. According to Nefesh B'Nefesh, which assists North American Jews in immigrating to Israel, aliyah applications from New York rose 31% between the November 2025 mayoral election and July 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.
Reality is changing, but Israel continues to treat aliyah largely as a symbolic national objective rather than as a strategic tool for shaping the country's future. The potential is enormous. Millions of Jews around the world identify with Israel and with the Zionist idea, while also seeking an open, democratic and inclusive Jewish identity. For them, Israel can be far more than a refuge. It can be a home.
This represents a national opportunity. Such an aliyah wave would not merely add to Israel's population. It would bring doctors, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, scientists and high-tech professionals, together with international connections, investment and experience accumulated in successful Jewish communities around the world.
It would strengthen Israel's economy, innovation and national resilience, while also shifting the demographic center of gravity of Israeli society. If 1 million liberal, educated and civic-minded immigrants were to come here, the balance of power would change dramatically.
That is why the political silence surrounding the issue is so puzzling. Many parties devote considerable attention to what Israel will look like a generation or two from now, yet ignore the one tool capable of affecting the demographic balance within years rather than decades. If they fail to address it, they will miss a rare opportunity. In a connected and globalized world, young, educated people can easily choose to build their lives elsewhere. If Israel does not present itself as a natural and attractive home for liberal Diaspora Jewry, Israeli society will lose one of its most important strategic assets for strengthening both diversity and national resilience.
The real question is not whether Diaspora Jews will want to make aliyah. Many are already asking themselves that question. The question is whether Israel will know how to invite them, prepare to absorb them and place aliyah at the top of the national agenda. It is time to stop treating aliyah as a nostalgic slogan and start seeing it for what it truly is: one of Israel's most important strategic assets.
The writer is the chairman and founder of Belong, a private social-impact initiative that promotes Aliyah.
