JPost Speaks with BGU Experts on Israel’s Aging Population
JPost Speaks with BGU Experts on Israel’s Aging Population
May 29, 2025
Prof. (emeritus) Shimon (Seymour) Glick at the Medical School for International Health Class of 2026 Physicians’ Oath Ceremony
The Jerusalem Post— Israel has, on average, the world’s youngest population. Still, ironically, it also has among the largest and growing absolute numbers of elderly, as a consequence of its high longevity rates, second only to Japan. How will it cope in the years ahead with the aging population, especially the post-World War II baby boomers?
At 93 and still going strong, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Faculty of Health Sciences Prof. (emeritus) Shimon (Seymour) Glick has seen and done nearly everything in medicine, so he has all the qualifications to discuss Israel and aging.
“Care for the aging”, he said, “requires specialization in geriatrics, but there are too few of them here, and it isn’t a lucrative field. Doctors want to see people get well and not, eventually, die.”
Israelis are now living much longer, which means they need more medications for chronic illnesses and are hospitalized for longer periods. But the share of those elderly who enjoy good health is relatively low compared to Scandinavia, for example.
“Medical centers advertise their obstetrics services – delivering babies – because they get generous state subsidies, and the health funds prefer young families as members because they are cheaper to treat,” Glick noted.
There aren’t enough general hospital beds in Israel, especially important for the elderly; that’s the bedrock of any health system. There have never been, even though new medical centers are being planned due to the continuous growth of the overall population.
According to Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, an epidemiology and public health professor, the outgoing dean of BGU’s School of Health Sciences, and now chairman of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies’ Health Policy Program in Jerusalem – the entire health system must be restructured.
“By 2050, there will be no Holocaust survivors left. But the next elderly generation, while living long lives, will not live that long without disability. There will be Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, loneliness, depression, and a need for rehabilitation,” said Prof. Davidovitch.
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