Naftali Bennett
Naftali BennettPhoto by Marc Israel Sellem/POOL

On Wednesday, Israel’s Council for Higher Education allowed Ariel University in Samaria to establish a faculty of medicine that will join the five other faculties operating in Israel.

According to set targets, the number of students admitted each year to medical studies in Israel is expected to increase from 760 students today to approximately 950 by 2020.

Minister of Education and Chairman of the Council for Higher Education, Naftali Bennett, expressed his satisfaction with the move. "Today we have made history. This is wonderful news for medicine in Israel, for the city of Ariel and for students. Ariel University stands on the same level as the other universities in Israel, and now also in medicine."

"The establishment of the faculty of medicine is a tremendous growth engine for academia and the health system, which is in dire need of doctors. Part of the solution to this is in expanding the training system for the doctors of the future. I am convinced that Ariel University will manage the medical program professionally and with quality, according to the standards of medicine and academia. Such revolutions start with an ambitious vision that seems hopeless - and today it has become a reality," Bennett added.