Israel recruits British doctors to fill staffing gaps

Israeli government agencies held a medical job fair in London on Sunday to recruit British doctors. The event, titled MedEx UK, took place at a Jewish community centre in the capital. Organisers aimed to attract foreign medical talent to address a growing shortage of healthcare workers in the country.

The fair was hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. It is part of the International Medical Aliyah Program, or Imap, which launched in 2020. The program sets a goal of bringing 2,000 doctors to Israel by 2029. Officials hope to streamline the licensing process for international applicants to meet this target.

Emails sent to attendees offered opportunities to meet with representatives from Israeli hospitals and health funds. Participants were also invited to take on-site YAEL Hebrew proficiency tests. These language exams are a requirement for obtaining a medical license in Israel. The event featured leaflets from providers including Terem and Clalit.

A Terem flyer distributed at the fair listed medical centres in the West Bank settlements of Modiin, Beit Shemesh, Ma’ale Adumim, and Beitar Illit. A list of attendees included representatives from Leumit Health Services, which operates clinics in 30 communities across the territory. The head of obstetrics and gynaecology in the Israeli military was also present. An activist from Jewish Anti-Zionist Action, who attended the event, noted that many prominent professors were present for the day and flew home the next day.

The recruitment drive is part of a long-term campaign to counter a physician exodus. A recent survey by the Israeli Medical Association found that 1,369 doctors left the country for more than a year between 2023 and 2025. To boost international hiring, the government has introduced financial incentives and simplified licensing rules. In 2025, the Ministry of Health lowered the experience threshold for a licensing exam exemption from 14 years to 10 years.

In 2026, the government announced it would allocate up to 240 million NIS, or $76.7 million, to fund international recruitment efforts. At the same time, the ministry has implemented measures that restrict the number of Palestinian doctors entering the healthcare system. The Yatziv Reform, adopted in 2019, revoked recognition of medical degrees from non-OECD countries and Palestinian universities in the West Bank.

Shani Bar Tuvia, director of the health policy department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel, said the number of Palestinians among medical students in Israel has dropped to around nine percent. She noted that this demographic cannot make up for the 45 percent of newly licensed medics who were Arab or Druze in 2023. The ministry is opening new medical schools at Ariel University and Reichman University to train more domestic students, but Bar Tuvia said these institutions are largely inaccessible to Palestinian students.

The ministry has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the London event. The number of new doctors entering the system is expected to decline this year as graduates from previously unrecognized schools finish their studies.