by Dr. Israel Jamitovsky
A recent article about the problems of Israeli scientists, academics and doctors living temporarily or permanently abroad, caused me to come across ScienceAbroad, a non-profit foundation that aims to maintain ties with Israeli researchers scattered throughout the academic and scientific world, as well as promote and support the return of this invaluable group to Israel.
This foundation provides a truly international space for approximately 4.500 Israeli researchers spread across 300 academic centers around the world. It manages 41 centers operating in various locations in the United States, Canada, and Europe, thanks to the generous support of volunteers who have already earned their doctorates.
The Foundation began operating in 2006 in Boston at the initiative of Dr. Shmulik Hess, Dr. Guil Blander, and entrepreneur Rami Lotem as a small collective that aimed to support the work of postdoctoral students in the biosciences during their stay abroad and facilitate their subsequent return to Israel. Subsequently, new groups emerged in North America, and on March 27, 2008, the foundation was established in Israel under the name of BioAbroad - Promoting the return and absorption of Israeli scientists. In 2016, the institution's assembly decided to modify its name and from that moment on it will be called ScienceAbroad - Organization of Israeli Scientists Abroad, aiming to include among its ranks Israeli researchers and academics from all walks of life without exception.
From its founding until 2023, the institution was chaired by Dr. Shmulik Hess, and from that date on, Prof. Rivka Carmi will lead the institution. Its headquarters are in the city of Hod Hasharon, just outside Tel Aviv.
Sharp growth of doctoral students
It has been reported that in 2016,1615, 21 students completed their doctorates in Israel, and since the beginning of the 5st century, their number has grown by an average of XNUMX% annually; in recent years, this figure has stabilized.
The Israeli Academy wisely encourages and promotes the departure of those students who have already obtained their doctorates, so that they can go abroad and pursue postdoctoral studies, gaining insight and familiarity with the world's best researchers, their developments, systems, and research methods, all of which will ultimately benefit science and research in Israel.
In this context, there is no doubt that during their stay abroad, in many cases the connection with Israel breaks down, especially among the children of scientists and doctors and among the younger generation. From the sources I have accessed, it is not clear whether the various places where these Israelis settle and develop have Jewish schools, Jewish community life, or specifically Israeli educational frameworks, and, if there are educational frameworks, whether this group sends their children to receive Jewish education. I recall that a few years ago, a study by the Organization of European Jewish Communities indicated that only 15% of the large Israeli population living on the Old Continent sent their children to Jewish schools, a disappointing and discouraging figure. I do not know whether the situation has improved or worsened today.
A worrying figure: 70% of scientists do not return to Israel.
From the studies conducted, a discouraging figure consistently emerges. For years, around 70% of Science Abroad members, that is, postdoctoral fellows, have not returned to Israel. This was before the controversial attempt at judicial reform and the war unleashed by Hamas on October 7.
What are the main reasons for this attitude? According to research conducted by the ScienceAbroad Foundation itself, 47% of respondents indicated that the current war influenced their decision to remain abroad, while 45% of those interviewed stated that the judicial reform promoted (although not approved) by the current Israeli government influenced their decision to settle abroad. Only 5.4% reported that they decided to return to Israel as a result of the war unleashed by Hamas.
Without underestimating or diminishing in the slightest the weight of the reasons invoked, there are scientists and university professors who resided in countries where peace and a commendable institutional order fortunately reign, yet they left those places because, as scientists or university professors, they could only find self-realization in the world's major research centers and best universities. Presumably, both the proposed judicial reform and the war unleashed by Hamas have further strengthened this group's decision not to return to Israel.
Finally, every cloud has a silver lining. The rampant anti-Semitism prevailing in certain academic circles starting October 7, 2023 (and I'm not referring to pro-Palestinian students), reflected in the virulent anti-Israel stances of faculty at prestigious universities, will impact the return of Israeli scientists to Israel, but will evidently work against their natural ambition to advance, as they are unable to specialize abroad and publish their work in prestigious journals. In this context, the work of ScienceAbroad can be very useful in enabling the successful reintegration of these scientists in Israel.
Doctors: more encouraging figures
A study promoted in 2024 by Dr. Mayan Guilboa and Dr. Lior Seluk among Israeli physicians living abroad indicates that 31% did not return to Israel after completing their specialization and internship, despite the urgent need for physicians in Israel, especially in the Galilee and the Negev. Therefore, it is not surprising that 519 new immigrant physicians have settled in Israel in the last year, and the opening of several medical schools in Israel is anticipated in the not-too-distant future.