Israel must fight harder to keep its doctors in the country

The Jerusalem Post recently reported that 1,370 Israeli doctors left the country for more than a year between 2023 and 2025, a 94% increase compared with the equivalent period a decade earlier. The government's first responsibility is obvious: Find out why doctors are leaving and give them reasons to stay. Israel already has an International Medical Aliyah Program, run by Nefesh B'Nefesh with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, Health Ministry, and Jewish Agency. Its goal is to facilitate the aliyah of 2,000 physicians by 2029 by streamlining licensing and helping doctors find placements. There are encouraging signs. More than 1,100 North Americans made aliyah through Nefesh B'Nefesh in August alone. Approximately 2,700 had arrived since the beginning of 2026, and the organization expects more than 4,000 by year's end. The current wave includes doctors and nurses.