Israel must fight harder to keep its doctors, editorial says

Israel is losing doctors at an alarming rate, but the country also has an opportunity to bring more Jewish physicians from around the world to make aliyah, The Jerusalem Post editorial says.

The newspaper recently reported that 1,370 Israeli doctors left the country for more than a year between 2023 and 2025. That represented a 94% increase over the equivalent period a decade earlier. Some doctors leave for fellowships, research or specialist training and later return, but the overall trend has raised concern. After accounting for returning physicians, Israel recorded a net loss of 509 doctors in 2023 and 2024, about five times the annual average of the previous decade.

The editorial says the government should determine why doctors are leaving and give them stronger reasons to remain. Israeli physicians work under heavy pressure, it says, and the healthcare system needs competitive conditions, opportunities for professional advancement, adequate staffing and a clear path for young doctors to build their futures in Israel.

Retention, however, should make up only half of the strategy. The editorial also points to Jewish doctors, nurses, researchers, therapists and other healthcare professionals in communities worldwide. Some already want to make aliyah, while others could consider it if Israel made licensing easier and offered clear opportunities to contribute.

Israel’s International Medical Aliyah Program, run by Nefesh B’Nefesh with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Jewish Agency, aims to facilitate the aliyah of 2,000 physicians by 2029. The paper calls for that effort to expand and accelerate, including through easier recognition of foreign qualifications, wider professional Hebrew programs, help finding placements and support for families moving countries. It also recommends incentives for doctors willing to work in areas with the most severe shortages, especially the North and South.

The editorial cites earlier waves of aliyah as a precedent. Immigration from the former Soviet Union brought thousands of doctors and nurses, as well as scientists, engineers, musicians and academics. It also notes that more than 1,100 North Americans made aliyah through Nefesh B’Nefesh in August, while about 2,700 had arrived since the start of 2026 before the article was published.