Israeli Government Research Grant Program Heavily Favors Ariel University

The Israeli government has allocated approximately 40 million shekels for 2024 and 2025 to a research grant program that exclusively benefits three institutions, with Ariel University in the occupied West Bank receiving over 80% of the funding. This comes alongside additional government compensation and allocations Ariel University receives due to its location within a settlement.

The program, known as the "Parallel Track," is managed by the Ministry of Science and Technology. According to a report by the newspaper Haaretz, Ariel University researchers and projects received 32.26 million shekels out of the total 39.98 million shekels disbursed over the two years. The "Parallel Track" was established to support researchers at institutions unable to access certain international research and cooperation programs because of their location in occupied territories.

Besides Ariel University, the program also funds the Mizrah Regional Research Institute, operating in the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley, and the Shamir Research Institute in the occupied Golan Heights settlement of Katzrin. These three institutions can also apply to the ministry's regular research funds, which have an annual budget of about 90 million shekels. The "Parallel Track" budget, for only three institutions, constitutes over one-fifth of the total budget for these regular funds.

An examination by Haaretz revealed significantly higher acceptance rates for proposals submitted to the "Parallel Track" compared to other ministry research tracks. In 2025, 85% of individual research proposals submitted to the program were accepted, compared to an average of 50% across other ministry research calls. This trend also occurred in 2024, with a 50% acceptance rate for the "Parallel Track" versus a 30% average for other ministry programs.

Initially established in 2022 with a budget of only 600,000 shekels, the program's budget was significantly expanded by the Israeli government in April 2024 to 20 million shekels annually. This expansion occurred even though Ariel University already receives an annual compensation of six million shekels from the Israeli Council for Higher Education due to its inability to participate in international programs like "Horizon." This compensation was recently converted from a student-based allocation to a fixed financial addition.

The "Parallel Track" and the Council for Higher Education compensation add to a series of funding streams that have benefited Ariel University. A 2016 investigation indicated Ariel was the most recipient of government funding in Israel through various state contracts awarded without competitive bidding. In 2021, coalition agreements reportedly included an additional 80 million shekels for the university to fund students beyond its recognized quota.

For the first time, the call for proposals for 2026 introduced a minimum evaluation threshold, requiring proposals to score between 80 and 85 to be eligible for funding. The new call also prioritizes proposals involving international cooperation, particularly with European, American, and Canadian universities. However, program documents state that the Planning and Budgeting Committee does not consider the "Parallel Track" a competitive research fund, which has financial implications for additional funding opportunities for Israeli universities.