Israel's Academic Standing Declines Amid International Boycott Concerns

International academic institutions are increasingly showing signs of an informal boycott against Israeli academic bodies, a trend that has been growing since 2024. Numerous academics from European and American institutions have reportedly refused to collaborate with Israeli counterparts or participate in international conferences held in Israel, while also declining to invite Israeli academics to such events. While most of these boycott initiatives have been individual and unofficial, a few instances have seen formal decisions by international scientific and academic organizations to boycott Israeli institutions.

The situation is reportedly becoming more overt, with clearer real-world impacts on scientific research and the standing of Israeli academic institutions. An economic newspaper, Calcalist, recently reported on the escalating damage to Israeli scientific research and academia due to this international boycott. Israel's position in "Horizon," a leading global scientific research grant program, has seen a sharp decline.

Specifically, results from the European Research Council (ERC) grants for early-career researchers, an area where Israel previously excelled, show a significant drop. Last year, Israeli researchers received approximately two-thirds fewer grants, falling from a consistent annual average of around 30 grants until 2024 to just 10 in 2025. The trend continued in 2026 with 11 grants for young Israeli researchers, indicating a sustained decline. Similar downturns were observed in other ERC grant categories: senior researchers saw grants decrease from 12 in 2024 to 7 in 2025, and mid-career researchers from 17 to 13.

While technical factors like Switzerland's temporary absence from the program and changes in evaluation criteria, such as increased weight on interviews and reduced weight on CVs, may explain some of the decline, they do not account for the full extent. Prominent institutions like the Hebrew University and the Weizmann Institute have seen a near-complete disappearance from the early-career researcher grant lists. Tel Aviv University received half of the young researcher grants this year (five), a decrease from 11 in 2024. The Hebrew University received none this year, down from three last year, and the Weizmann Institute received only one, compared to eight in 2024.

Professor Etti Atar from Tel Aviv University attributed the decline to the government's policies over the past four years, stating they have severely damaged Israel's global image and are reflected in the drop in EU research grants. He warned that without these grants and European collaboration, more researchers would leave Israel, fewer would return, and the country's future would be at risk.