Israel Launches London Recruitment Drive: British Doctors Targeted

Israeli government agencies and partner groups held a recruitment event in London on Sunday to recruit British doctors for the Israeli health system. The fair, named MedEx UK, took place at a Jewish community centre in the city. It was organized by Nefesh B'Nefesh, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.

The event is part of the International Medical Aliyah Program, which launched in 2020 with a goal of bringing 2,000 doctors to Israel by 2029. The program aims to simplify the licensing process for foreign physicians. Emails sent to attendees, reviewed by Middle East Eye, promised meetings with representatives from Israeli hospitals and health funds. Participants could also take the YAEL Hebrew proficiency test on site, a requirement for obtaining a medical license.

An activist from Jewish Anti-Zionist Action who gained entry to the event reported that attendees received promotional materials from providers such as Terem and Clalit. These organizations operate centers in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. A Terem flyer listed locations in the settlements of Modiin, Beit Shemesh, Ma'ale Adumim, and Beitar Illit. The attendee list also included representatives from Leumit Health Services and the head of obstetrics and gynaecology in the Israeli military.

The activist noted that prominent professors attended the event and returned to Israel the following day. Shivat Zion, an organization that assists British citizens in relocating to West Bank settlements, was also present. According to the activist, Clalit representatives told attendees that job placements were available anywhere in Israel, with assistance provided for housing. Nefesh B'Nefesh, the Jewish Agency, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, and Clalit did not respond to requests for comment.

The recruitment drive addresses a ongoing loss of medical staff. A survey by the Israeli Medical Association found that 1,369 doctors left the country for periods exceeding one year between 2023 and 2025. To address this, the Health Ministry reduced the experience required for a licensing exam exemption from 14 years to 10 years in 2025. In 2026, the ministry announced a budget of up to 240 million NIS, or $76.7 million, for international recruitment of medical staff.

Concurrently, the ministry has implemented measures that limit the entry of Palestinian doctors into the system. The 2019 Yatziv Reform removed recognition for medical degrees from countries outside the OECD, including Moldova, Armenia, and Romania, as well as from Palestinian universities in the West Bank. Palestinian citizens of Israel face barriers to entering Israeli medical schools, while Palestinians from the occupied territories cannot enroll directly. Many therefore study abroad where tuition is lower.

Palestinians comprised 25 percent of Israel's physicians in 2023, an increase from 8 percent in 2010. The health ministry reported that Arabs and Druze accounted for nearly 45 percent of newly licensed doctors in 2023, compared with 18 percent in 2010. This year, the number of new doctors is expected to drop as students from previously unrecognised schools graduate. Shani Bar Tuvia of Physicians for Human Rights Israel stated that Palestinians now make up about 9 percent of medical students in Israel. She noted that the ministry knew the reform would result in fewer licensed doctors. The ministry has also opened new medical schools at Ariel University and Reichman University, which Bar Tuvia described as almost irrelevant for Palestinians.