Israel’s strained healthcare system is getting a critical boost from abroad.
More than 1,000 immigrant physicians have joined Israel’s medical workforce over the past two years, according to data presented this week at the National Conference for Immigrant Physicians — a notable influx at a time when the country faces persistent doctor shortages and a steady outflow of professionals amid war and political uncertainty.
Officials at the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration said 541 doctors immigrated to Israel in 2025 alone. The largest group arrived from the former Soviet Union, followed by North America and France. Many entered through the International Medical Aliyah Program, led by Nefesh B’Nefesh in partnership with the government and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The new physicians have been absorbed into Israel’s largest hospitals, including Sheba Medical Center, Hadassah Medical Center, Rambam Health Care Campus, Ichilov Hospital and Soroka Medical Center.
To steer doctors toward underserved areas, the ministry awarded roughly NIS 5 million ($1.6 million) in grants to physicians who committed to working in the Negev and Galilee, both of them being regions long plagued by limited access to care.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
2 Responses
the lack of education by Hareidim contributes greatly to Israel’s shortage of physicians.
DrYidd: There are Hareidi doctors. Perhaps Israel should consider changing its educational, social and cultural system so Hareidim can be trained as doctors, just as they are in the United States. The problem is the severe antagonism towards Hareidi fostered by the Israeli media and school. Israel’s real cause of doctor shortages that many secular Israeli doctors prefer to work in countries that pay better, particularly the United States. And in all fairness, all countries have problem providing services in the areas perceived as less desirable (Galil and Negev in Israel, the “fly over zone” in the United States).