Israeli budget cuts ‘devastating’ for universities

“Devastating” government budget cuts have left university leaders concerned about the future of Israel’s higher education sector. 

The Israeli Cabinet has approved a wartime budget that sees government department budgets slashed by up to 5 per cent, as it promises NIS9 billion (£1.9 billion) towards defence spending.

While the measures had initially included an additional NIS133 million cut to the education budget throughout 2025 and 2026, this has been abandoned following pressure from education minister Yoav Kisch.

Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, vice-president for global engagement at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said the cuts, which still need to be approved by the country’s parliament, would be “so devastating and so traumatic” she questioned whether universities “would be able to handle it”. 

“Research in Israel is the cornerstone of Israel’s development in research and technology, and cutting back on research would be devastating,” she added. 

She said that Israel is already witnessing a brain drain of academics as the country’s institutions remain isolated on the international stage, and warned this could be worsened by any further cuts. 

Leo Corry, president of the Open University of Israel, echoed concerns that the cuts come on top of “silent boycotts” from international collaborators, adding that “this is perhaps just the beginning” of cuts to education as the government enacts its harsh wartime budget. 

He said that “there are members of the government that would like to see higher education weaker than it is” as part of “a larger confrontation with the elites in Israel, of which the academy and the academics are part”. 

The announced cuts came as the majority of Israeli universities began their academic year, with the Technion Institute of Technology and the University of Haifa remaining closed because of their proximity to missile attacks by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. 

Daniel Chamovitz, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and chairman of the Association of University Heads, said the blanket cuts to all departments “will in no doubt” hinder “growth programmes” being explored by universities, including research into quantum technologies and artificial intelligence, and said the cuts were likely to hit social outreach programmes with scholarships for underprivileged students.

However, he welcomed the last-minute U-turn on the “crazy” proposal to cut more than NIS100 million from the education budget. “It takes very little to make us happy,” he said. “Of course, we think that the budget needs to be increased, because it’s only through higher education that you can change society.”

Higher education across the Middle East has been hit following the renewed conflict in the area. Israeli bombardment has destroyed all universities in Gaza, while airstrikes in Lebanon have resulted in concerns that its universities face an “existential” fight for survival as cash reserves run low.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com