“Israeli academia is isolated”: The State of Science Report for 2025

The report stated that the war and boycotts have a direct effect on the state of the academic workforce. According to the data, there has been a departure of senior faculty and a 15% drop in the intake of young faculty. Kimchi said: “There are international research colleagues who have left or avoided coming to academia in Israel,” and added, “We are dealing with the cancellation of international conferences in Israel, in 2024 there were no conferences at all. People avoid going to conferences because of boycotts. The situation is very worrying, especially among the young scientists who will not withstand many years of boycott because science is international – the Israeli academy is boycotted and isolated.”

Along with the difficulties, Kimchi also pointed to achievements: “Israel is in first place in the winning percentage of research grants, with the winning percentage standing at over 25%. In addition, our researchers win many international awards.”

The report presented a series of recommendations, including the establishment of a scholarship fund for outstanding students to study at prestigious institutions abroad with the aim of encouraging postdoctoral students to return to Israel, the establishment of semi-annual hospitality frameworks for researchers from abroad, the establishment of a national supercomputer committee for academia based on artificial intelligence, renewal of research equipment and infrastructure, training of personnel in the field of artificial intelligence, and backup of biological materials following the attack on the Weizmann Institute.