In one of its last decisions, Israel's outgoing Cabinet voted unanimously on Sunday to establish a new medical school in the Galilee city of Tzfat.
The question is, when?
The current economic recession is likely to make it difficult for the next government to establish the new school and its partner research institute, both of which will be attached to Ziv Hospital in Tzfat.
President Shimon Peres, who has lobbied for a medical school for the Galilee for years, commented in a statement on Sunday that establishing the new institution "will strengthen and develop Kiryat Shmona, Tzfat and the whole Galilee, just as BGU [Ben Gurion University] contributed to the strengthening and development of Be'er Sheva and the Negev.
"The government's decision was reached very late, which will make it difficult to raise funds in the current economic crisis, but all of us are bound to join the effort and bring resources so that this welcome project will come about," Peres said.
The medical school at BGU of the Negev in Be'er Sheva was founded in 1973 and is the most recent of the four medical schools in the nation. The other three medical centers are located in Jerusalem (Hebrew University-Hadassah), Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv University) and in Haifa (Technion), on the northern coast.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert led the government in pointing to the decision as part of the process of developing the north "This decision continues a series of decisions to advance and develop the north and will – so we hope – lead to an even greater flow to one of the most beautiful places in the country," he said in a statement following Sunday's Cabinet meeting.
"The decision to develop the north and the Negev does not remain on paper… Establishing a medical school will bring many students, be a center of research and influence and will play an important role in turning the north in one of our most lively and important places," he added. Olmert also noted that half of all medical graduates are women, in a nod to International Women's Day, which was Sunday.
The proposal, which was supported by Health Minister Yaakov Ben-Yizri, stemmed from the recommendations of a public committee headed established two years ago. The committee was headed by the director-general of Jerusalem's Shaare Tzedek Medical Center, Professor Jonathan HaLevy, a liver specialist.
According to Dr. HaLevy, there are at least 1,000 Israeli students studying medicine in Hungary at present, and hundreds of others studying medicine in other Eastern Europe countries, as well as elsewhere. At present, only 300 students per year graduate from the four medical schools in Israel, due to Finance Ministry restrictions on the Council for Higher Education.