Of the 350 medical professionals walking the halls of MedEx, Nefesh B’Nefesh’s aliyah event for healthcare workers interested in making aliyah, Dr. Sadiasept Guillont Juarbe might have the most unusual background.
Born to missionary parents in Guatemala, Juarbe was raised in the Seventh Day Adventist tradition, but it was Judaism that truly resonated with him.
“We never ate pork and we kept Shabbat,” he says. “The only difference is their Messiah is Jesus from Nazareth. I have first-degree cousins who are Jewish, and it seemed to be the true monotheistic religion that made sense to me intellectually and spiritually.”
So in 2018 Juarbe converted to Judaism, but the OBGYN and Preventive Medicine specialist came to understand that finding a Jewish partner in his home of Puerto Rico was a challenge. He realized his love of Judaism would compel him to make another life-altering change: making aliyah.
Although Juarbe’s story is unique, in many ways he had much in common with the other medical professionals attending MedEx, who came together to answer one essential question: can I marry my love of practicing medicine with living in the Jewish state?
Thanks to Nefesh B’Nefesh’s efforts alongside partners the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel, JNF-USA, the Israel Medical Association and the Health Ministry, the answer is a resounding yes.
The two-day event in Teaneck, New Jersey, afforded the healthcare professionals hailing from 18 states across the country a chance to cut through the bureaucratic red tape associated with converting their various medical licenses and interview with Israeli HMOs and hospitals in order to see what would be their best professional fit.
The event saw the full spectrum of medical staff, including physicians, nurses, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists, optometrists, pharmacists, occupational, speech, and physiotherapists, audiologists, dietitians and nutritionists, and dental hygienists.
While this massive undertaking is done partly to support the Zionist dream of bringing Jews to Israel, there is another equally important overarching goal in helping medical professionals set up shop in Israel.
While it’s unfathomable to think the country that brought medical innovations like the Pillcam and ReWalk has deficiencies in its medical system, the sad reality is that Israel is facing a worrying doctor shortage.
Dr. Sefi Mendlovic, associate director-general of the Health Ministry, warned at MedEx that the next three years will be critical in addressing this issue, as Israel may very well see a severe doctor shortage from 2026 to 2030.
How did Israel – the Start-up Nation – find itself in such a predicament?
The reasons are complex, but chief among them is that 60% of Israeli doctors study abroad, and not all international universities are equal, with some having much lower standards than others.
In 2019, the Health Ministry decided to address this issue by decreeing that Israeli medical students studying abroad must attend an institution within an OECD country or one recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education, and conduct clinical training in accredited hospitals in order to obtain an Israeli medical license.
While the measure is commendable and a necessary one, it also means that many would-be Israeli doctors would no longer be eligible to practice in their home country if they chose a university that did not meet the more rigid criteria.
In 2020 alone, according to data published by the Health Ministry, some 1,700 doctors were left with degrees that Israel will not recognize.
Mendlovic said that while Israel is looking at a looming crisis, it is calmly doing its best to ensure the country isn’t left with a severe country-wide shortage.
Enter Nefesh B’Nefesh, which is providing a talented pool of dedicated individuals from North America who want to contribute to the Jewish state in its time of need.
“Nefesh B’Nefesh helps obliterate many of the obstacles doctors looking to convert their license face and make it easier for them to make aliyah,” Mendlovic said. “We see this in practice with the doctors we encounter, and we hear this from the olim themselves.”
MK Idit Silman, former coalition chairwoman and head of the Knesset Health Committee before she quit the government on April 6, also attended the event, and said that not only can these olim offer extra hands on deck, they are often seasoned medical professionals whose expertise will only contribute to Israel’s health care system.
“While this poses another challenge – that it is difficult to absorb someone senior into an already existing system – we are doing our best to make it possible since we need and want their expertise,” she said. “As a government, we need to make this a priority – not only their employment, but looking at the broad picture and working with individual municipalities to get them acclimated to the country.”
While aliyah has always been an important mission for Israel, it’s now become a national priority, and as such, the periphery is even offering special incentives for medical professionals choosing to reside in the Negev and the Galilee.
“Nefesh B’Nefesh’s MedEx conference is a wonderful example of the combination of Zionism and professionalism,” said Oded Forer, minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee. “We will welcome them with open arms and make every effort to assist these new physicians to Israel. In addition, I plan on continuing to work tirelessly to promote the aliyah of physicians and engineers, of which there is a great shortage in the periphery, and to implement the new governmental budget allocated for all the professionals who choose to live in the Negev and the Galilee.”
These incentives are put into place because it is expected that the periphery will be hit hardest by the medical shortage as the hospitals there have the highest number of foreign graduates.
At the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashdod, for example, 94% of residents are foreign medical school graduates.
While the situation seems alarming now, Mendlovic said that the reform has introduced growing pains to the system that will only benefit in the long run.
“I’m not worried about what will happen in the long-term,” he said. “Right now, the focus is on 2026-2030.”
As for Nefesh B’Nefesh, it’s proud to hit the ground running in helping the state address this acute need.
“We’re looking forward and proactively anticipating the needs of Israel down the road, and trying to already create some of the solutions,” said Nefesh B’Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director Rabbi Yehoshua Fass. “Israel is about to experience a major shortage in physicians, and one way of solving this issue is to accelerate the process of those who want to move to Israel. It’s a marriage made in heaven: Israel needs doctors, medical professionals in America want to move to Israel, so we’re playing a matchmaker of sorts to make that happen.” ■