The Weizmann Institute of Science has cut the size of its inaugural medical school class—opening this year—by roughly half, because of damage from Iranian missile strikes in June and insufficient time to run prerequisite courses. The institute had planned to admit up to 40 students and, given the strong demand, it was expected to fill all seats. In the end, only 20 were accepted.
With so few training slots available, just 28% of the 2,637 new doctors licensed in 2024 studied in Israel, while 72% graduated from foreign medical schools. In recent years, the nationwide intake of new medical students has grown from about 800 at the end of the previous decade to 1,140 last year. Under a government decision from December 2024, the goal is to reach 1,360 new medical students in the coming year and 1,700 in the class starting in 2027. Since last year’s intake was already 100 short of the 1,230 target, it is unclear whether that timetable is realistic.
As part of the broader expansion plan, Reichman University opened a medical school this past winter, and the Council for Higher Education approved new medical schools at the Weizmann Institute and the University of Haifa for the coming year. The Weizmann program will be unusually long—seven and a half years, even for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree—and will train physician-scientists. As is customary at the institute, students will pay no tuition and will receive a living stipend.
In a statement, the institute noted: “There is no doubt that the security situation had an impact, forcing us to act cautiously and responsibly to maintain the highest academic and research standards.” Another factor was the lack of time to prepare students without a life sciences background: “We received final approval for the program from the Council for Higher Education just before registration opened—literally the next day. This left no time for a full preparatory year for those coming from physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, or engineering backgrounds, who require about a year of basic core courses before starting.”
From the outset, the institute planned for “up to 40” students per year, chosen through a rigorous, multi-stage admissions process that evaluates not only academic and research excellence but also clinical skills, interpersonal abilities, motivation, commitment to the program’s vision, and genuine passion for merging science and medicine. Twenty students were selected for the first class, with hopes of reaching the full number next year—again with the emphasis on “up to 40.”
Most new doctors trained abroad
According to the Health Ministry, 2,637 new licenses were issued in 2024, 78% to graduates of foreign medical schools. This represents a 7% increase from last year and a 48% rise compared to 2020. Between 2019 and 2022, about 170 immigrant doctors arrived each year; after the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine war in February of 2022, the figure jumped to 387 in 2023 and 311 in 2024.
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Two major Weizmann Institute buildings—the Cancer Research Institute and the Advanced Chemical Materials Research Building—were completely destroyed by missile strikes. The latter had been near completion. In total, 112 buildings were damaged: 60 laboratories and 52 residential buildings. Five will be rebuilt, including the Environmental Quality Laboratories. The strikes destroyed 52 research labs and six service labs, halting an estimated 20–25% of the institute’s work in the initial phase. Direct damage to buildings and equipment—excluding lost research data and the cost of renting temporary lab space—is estimated at $410–$550 million.
Weizmann Institute President Professor Alon Chen told the Knesset in late June that property tax compensation rules, which calculate based on depreciated value rather than replacement cost, pose a severe problem: “If we purchased a microscope for $1 million five years ago, its current book value might be $200,000. But replacing it today costs $1.3–$1.5 million. If compensation is $200,000, who covers the difference?” He added: “In terms of compensation, there are many gray areas—amounting to the difference between about $137 million and $550 million.”