Israel’s brain drain deepens as 1,370 doctors leave country since 2023

Around 1,370 doctors left Israel for at least 12 months between 2023 and 2025, nearly twice the number who did so during the comparable period a decade earlier, according to a new study by researchers at Tel Aviv University.

The sharp increase is fueling concerns about a growing brain drain from Israel’s already strained health-care system, particularly as the data show that a larger share of the doctors leaving are older, more experienced physicians.

The number of doctors who left Israel during the three-year period was almost double the 705 who left between 2013 and 2015. The researchers said the recent figure represents a roughly fivefold increase compared with the previous decade.

The nearly 1,400 physicians who have left Israel since 2023 reportedly exceed the total number of medical staff at leading Israeli hospitals, such as Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, and Shamir Medical Center outside Tel Aviv.

The study was conducted by Professor Itai Ater, Professor Nittai Bergman and PhD candidate Doron Zamir of Tel Aviv University. The researchers analyzed education data and medical licensing files obtained from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

“Since 2023, the State of Israel has been losing its best people,” Ater said in an interview with The Times of Israel.

“All of us have family members waiting for surgery or other medical care. The departure of nearly 1,400 doctors translates directly into longer wait times, less effective medical care, and ultimately severe harm to our quality of life,” the professor warned.

The research showed a net loss of 509 doctors between 2023 and 2024, averaging about 255 doctors per year. That is nearly five times the average annual net loss of 54 doctors between 2010 and 2019.

While raising concerns about a potentially growing brain drain, the researchers stressed that not all of the emigration is permanent, as some doctors are likely to return to Israel.

The report did not explicitly link the increase in doctors leaving Israel to political circumstances. However, the period coincided with two major events: the Netanyahu government’s controversial judicial reforms in 2023 and the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 of that year.

The report also identified a shift in the age profile of doctors leaving Israel. More than 20% of the doctors who left between 2023 and 2025 were 45 or older, compared with 14% of physicians who emigrated a decade earlier.

The exodus includes doctors from a range of medical specialties, particularly pediatricians, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, ear, nose and throat specialists, and surgeons.

The Tel Aviv region lost 429 doctors, equivalent to 7.4% of all doctors under age 60. Haifa lost 190 doctors, Jerusalem lost 132 and the southern district lost 125.

“If this trend continues, heaven forbid, there is growing concern of irreversible damage to Israel’s resilience,” Professor Ater warned.

The findings come as Israel is also grappling with broader emigration. Between 45,000 and 50,000 Israelis left the country in 2025, according to a report released last month by the same Tel Aviv University researchers.

"These figures on their own do not yet pose a threat to Israel's resilience. However, looking ahead – and if there is no change – there is growing concern that emigration will escalate in a manner that endangers Israel's security and economy," the report said.