How Israel Is Turning Aliyah Into a Healthcare Strategy

Israel is recruiting Jewish doctors from abroad through a coordinated Aliyah program that offers major grants, licensing support, and employment assistance for physicians willing to build their future in the Negev and Galilee.

The initiative comes as Israel faces growing pressure on its healthcare system, especially in hospitals and communities outside the country’s center. Rather than treating Aliyah only as an immigration mission, officials are using it as part of a wider effort to fill national workforce gaps and strengthen medical care in underserved areas.

The program, known as the International Medical Aliyah Program, or IMAP, is led by Nefesh B’Nefesh in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, Health Ministry, Ministry of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience, and the Jewish Agency. It helps doctors navigate Aliyah paperwork, credential recognition, medical licensing, job placement, and relocation before they arrive in Israel.

MedEx, IMAP’s flagship licensing and employment event, brings government ministries, licensing authorities, and healthcare employers together so doctors can move through the process in one place. Events have been held in New Jersey, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, and Montreal.

Recent figures show the effort gaining momentum. About 350 doctors and healthcare professionals attended MedEx New Jersey this year, and more than 130 applications were filed with the Health Ministry to convert professional licenses. IMAP was launched in 2024 with a goal of bringing 2,000 doctors to Israel by 2029, and more than 1,100 Jewish physicians from around the world have already immigrated since the program began.

The financial incentives are aimed especially at the periphery. According to official Israeli information, specialist doctors who come to live and work in the Negev and Galilee can receive grants of NIS 400,000, or more than $130,000, distributed over the assistance period.

At the MedEx event, Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf said the program was aimed at bringing doctors to the communities that need them most. “Today, more than ever, the State of Israel needs quality doctors in Safed, Metula, Kiryat Shmona, Beersheba, and Dimona.” Wasserlauf said his ministry was proud to partner with Nefesh B’Nefesh on an initiative that “turns Zionist values into action” by bringing medical professionals to strengthen hospitals and communities across the Negev, Galilee, and southern regions.

Zev Gershinsky, executive vice president of Nefesh B’Nefesh, said many physicians need help beyond the decision to immigrate. “We realized that doctors coming to Israel need help dealing with bureaucracy, licensing and employment, so we built a support system that allows them to move toward aliyah with confidence,” he said.

He added that the cooperation between government ministries and organizations created “a real solution,” both for the doctors and for Israel. “Most participants who come to this conference will eventually immigrate to Israel,” Gershinsky said. “We want the decision to be theirs, at the right time for them, but no less important, we want them not only to immigrate but also to stay and build their lives here.”

For Israeli officials and Aliyah organizations, the program is meant to bring in doctors who can begin contributing quickly while building long-term lives in Israel. For the country’s healthcare system, it is a practical attempt to bring skilled professionals to the places where the need is greatest.