Israel is becoming an unattractive proposition not just for the ever growing proportion of civilized human beings who are backing the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, but for Israelis themselves.

A study of 501 Hebrew-speaking Israelis aged 15-18, commissioned by the Zionist Council in Israel and conducted by the Midgam Research Institute, found that about a quarter of secular Israeli youth wanted to leave Israel and make their lives elsewhere, the Times of Israel reported, citing Israeli Channel 1 TV news.

The study also found that nearly a third of the respondents did not consider themselves Zionist and 11 per cent did not identify themselves as Israelis.

However, whatever it was that was making the world’s only apartheid state unattractive to young Israelis, land theft wasn’t one of them.

According to the Times of Israel, 85 per cent of the youth surveyed said they were unwilling to give up parts of occupied East Jerusalem, “even if it led to a real peace with the Palestinians”. Only 20 per cent of secular youth were willing to relinquish the occupied city for peace.

Nor, it seems, was the occupation and militarism among the reasons why Israeli youth wanted to leave the apartheid state. Some 76 per cent of respondents said they intended to join the occupation army, including 92 per cent of males and 60 per cent of females.

Perhaps it’s having one’s cake and eating it is what’s motivating Israel’s young: keeping the proceeds of crime while taking advantage of the opportunities and welfare systems of other countries.