Israel is short of military personnel and scientists. Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir sounded the alarm, sending an unusual warning message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and War Minister Israel Katz last week. Zamir wrote in the message: “The personnel shortage crisis is serious, the necessary legislation must be resolved by January 1st.”
This is an exceptional message, not a routine one, coming as hundreds of permanent employees are retiring following the enactment of a law regarding their conditions of service. Chief of Staff Zamir wrote: “In the current situation, there is a grave danger. Permanent personnel and their motivation to serve are being seriously damaged.” The Chief of Staff asked the Prime Minister and the War Minister to “intervene in the matter and close the file so as not to lose highly effective permanent personnel.”
But that’s not all: Israel is running out of researchers and scientists. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBST) announced this, confirming that in 2024, Israel recorded a negative net migration of academic staff, as a greater number of academics with a bachelor’s degree or higher moved abroad than returned. According to the data, these migrant minds are characterized by young, educated people from affluent residential areas of Israel, particularly the Sharon region and Tel Aviv.
The data refer to the war period, but according to the CBST, they reflect an upward trend that is strengthening over time. According to the data, more than a quarter of Israeli PhDs in mathematics (25.4%) now live abroad, as do 21.7% of PhDs in computer science, 19.4% of PhDs in genetics, 17.3% of PhDs in microbiology, 17% of PhDs in physics, 14% of PhDs in chemistry, and a similar percentage among PhDs in electrical engineering and biology.
Furthermore, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, 23% of Weizmann Institute PhDs currently live abroad, as do 18.2% of Technion PhDs, 15% of Tel Aviv University PhDs in science, 10% of Ariel University PhDs in science, and 7% of Bar-Ilan University PhDs. As of 2024, 11.9% of Israeli PhDs and 8.1% of master’s degree holders live abroad.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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