Why Israel Needs to Bring Back Its Brilliant Minds

With all the news coming out of Israel these days, it would’ve been easy to miss the recent prediction by Moody’s that the country’s historically low credit rating will persist throughout the entire year.

But supporters of Israel need to pay attention to that development. Here’s why.

Israel’s global standing is driven in no small part by its economic strength. Meanwhile, the Israeli economy depends on its high-tech sector much more than the average nation. According to the Israel Innovation Authority, high-tech contributes nearly 20% of Israel’s GDP. By comparison, high-tech constitutes only 9% of the GDP in the United States and 6% in European Union countries.

This is precisely why Bar-Ilan University (BIU) is undertaking an unprecedented initiative to recruit at least 100 Israeli researchers currently working overseas to full-time positions in our engineering, life sciences, medical, and exact-sciences faculties over the next seven years. It would be natural to ask: Why prioritize such an effort while Israel is still in the middle of fighting a war? The answer is clear. Without its status as a global powerhouse in science and technology, Israel falls behind in many ways — from the economy, to the capability to produce the technologies needed to defend the nation, to one of the key value propositions that the country brings to the table in peace negotiations with Arab states, just to name a few.

BIU is providing the Jewish state with an academic answer to this challenge. To round out their education, Israel’s top researchers often leave the country for postdoctoral work at universities abroad, with the goal of bringing the best thinking and approaches back to Israel when they finish. To ensure these brilliant minds return to Israel after their post-doctoral work, BIU strives to offer similar access to research facilities, equipment, and excellent graduate students at the university compared to what these scholars would receive abroad. Bringing these researchers back home means that they can continue their groundbreaking work in Israel and strengthen the country’s academic standing — which in turn builds a scientific and cultural foundation for national strength and prosperity.

Bar-Ilan’s researchers report that returning home after holding positions abroad has been an enriching experience both personally and professionally.

“I decided to return to Israel and specifically to Bar-Ilan University because Israel is my home — my family, roots, and identity are here, and we are deeply connected as Israeli patriots and Zionists,” says Prof. Nissan Yissachar (head of BIU’s Yissachar Lab, which researches microbiome interactions), who returned to BIU after serving as a research fellow at Harvard Medical School. “Additionally, the atmosphere at Bar-Ilan, particularly within the Faculty of Life Sciences, is uniquely friendly, supportive, and familial, fostering both scientific excellence and meaningful contributions to society in Israel and globally.”

In addition to recruiting scientists back home, Israel must also prioritize the retention of outstanding researchers who haven’t yet served abroad. Take Dr. Einat Zalckvar, from the Dangoor Center for Personalized Medicine and the Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences at BIU, a leading expert in understanding and analyzing rare diseases.

Dr. Zalckvar’s research is based on the role of peroxisomes, where many cellular activities occur, including the breakdown of toxic substances. The damage of peroxisomes has been linked to severe genetic disorders. With her team, Dr. Zalckvar conducts innovative research to uncover the mechanisms that regulate the functioning of peroxisomes, with the goal of better understanding the molecular basis of rare diseases. This knowledge is crucial to exploring new treatment avenues both in cases of rare genetic disorders as well as in more common diseases such as cancer, obesity, and viral infections.

According to Dr. Zalckvar, the term “rare diseases” might be misleading. While each condition affects a relatively small number of people, together they impact millions globally. She calls these diseases “one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine.”

Israel is a living laboratory for Dr. Zalckvar’s work. With approximately 500,000 Israelis affected by rare diseases, hospitals house extensive patient databases, and genetically distinct populations offer unparalleled research opportunities. BIU, with its world-class researchers and strategic presence in Safed — a region home to isolated populations with high rates of rare diseases — is uniquely positioned to lead this effort.

This research embodies the “Third Mission” of Bar-Ilan — advancing the betterment of society by protecting its most vulnerable individuals, and ensuring that no one is left behind. In doing so, BIU empowers Israel to serve as a beacon of hope that transforms lives within the country itself and internationally. And when Israel fills that role on a global scale, both its image and economy reap the benefits.

Join us in strengthening Israeli higher education through the recruitment and retention of the Jewish state’s brilliant minds, and in building Israel’s economic strength today and tomorrow. If we work together to prioritize this issue, the next Moody’s credit rating prediction for Israel is poised to be brighter.