An unprecedented move launches tomorrow (Wednesday) in Eilat: a branch campus of Hungary’s University of Debrecen for medical studies opens in the city, with a ceremony expected to include the Prime Minister, his wife, and other senior officials. On its face, it’s another step toward expanding physician training in Israel. But behind the celebration lies a much bigger question for the healthcare system: How did Israel reach a point where it needs a foreign university to allow more young Israelis to study medicine inside the country?
The Eilat campus aims to address two problems that have plagued the healthcare system for years—the expected shortage of doctors and the difficulty of rapidly expanding the number of students trained at Israeli medical schools.
3+Only 28% of New Doctors Trained in Israel
The figure that best illustrates Israel’s dependence on training doctors abroad comes from the Health Ministry’s latest full report. In 2024, Israel issued 2,637 new medical licenses, but only 28% went to graduates of Israeli medical schools. The rest were trained abroad, including Israelis who went to study in other countries and doctors who immigrated to Israel. This means the Israeli healthcare system still relies heavily on training tracks outside the country’s borders, precisely when the need for new doctors is expected to grow in coming years.
The Bank of Israel has also warned of the risk of worsening shortages: according to its assessment, implementing the “Yatziv Reform”—which limits the ability of graduates from foreign medical institutions that don’t meet set requirements to obtain licenses in Israel—could reduce the number of new doctors by 400 to 600 annually, with the impact potentially hitting the periphery especially hard.
3+In Israel: High Psychometric Score—Then the Screening Begins
Meanwhile, for a young Israeli seeking to study medicine in the country, the path to medical school remains one of the most competitive and complex in higher education. At Tel Aviv University, for example, a psychometric score of at least 700 is currently required as a threshold condition, and that’s before the additional screening stages, personality tests, and aptitude assessments for medical studies. Other institutions also have very high threshold requirements, with the number of spots limited relative to demand. And here’s precisely the gap that sharpens the story of the new campus.
Debrecen: No Israeli Psychometric, With Science Exams
At the University of Debrecen, the admission system is different. Candidates aren’t required to have an Israeli psychometric score, and no average matriculation threshold comparable to those used at some Israeli faculties has been published. Instead, they’re tested directly in subjects relevant to medical studies: biology and a choice between chemistry and physics, in exams that include written and oral components.
Importantly, this doesn’t necessarily mean Debrecen’s admission requirements are “easier.” It’s a different screening method that directly tests scientific knowledge and candidate suitability for studies. Still, for Israelis who didn’t pass the screening of local faculties, it’s an additional track that allows them to try to get into medicine—and now, unusually, to complete their studies inside Israel.
3+First Semester in Hungary—Continuation in Eilat
About 20 Israeli students have already begun their first semester at the University of Debrecen in Hungary. According to the plan, in February 2027 they’re expected to transfer to continue their studies at the Eilat campus, subject to receiving final licensing to operate the program in Israel. Initially, the program is expected to operate on a relatively limited scale, with a goal to expand gradually in coming years. Medical studies themselves last six years, so the branch campus isn’t shortening the training track—it’s changing the location and framework of admission and studies.
And What About Affirmative Action?
The issue of affirmative action is part of the broader debate around admission to medical studies in Israel. Alongside the regular admission track, various institutions have dedicated tracks and accommodations designed to expand access to studies for candidates from different social, economic, or geographic backgrounds. The scope of accommodations and implementation methods vary among institutions, but ultimately the central debate remains around the same question: How do you increase the number of medical students without compromising training standards and equal opportunity?
3+The Solution Comes From Abroad—But the Problem Is Here
The state has been working in recent years to increase the number of medical students and open new tracks, but the new Eilat campus holds up an uncomfortable mirror to the system. On one hand, it’s a move that could increase the number of doctors trained in Israel, strengthen Eilat and the south, and keep more Israeli students inside the country. On the other hand, the very fact that expanded opportunities are coming through a Hungarian university sharpens the question of why Israel hasn’t built enough domestic training spots over the years.
Ultimately, this is the paradox at the heart of the story: Israel needs more doctors, many young Israelis want to study medicine, but to open another door for them here at home, the state is now turning to a university abroad.