This is what the chairman of the subcommittee of the science committee in the Knesset, Yigal Yasinov, says about the committee for up-and-coming scientists whose activities were suddenly stopped
The Science and Technology Committee's subcommittee on the affairs of emerging scientists worked for only six months and was immediately closed. The subcommittee had a series of successes: a joint development fund was established for the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and Health for immigrant scientists engaged in research in the field of medicine; A cut in the budget of the KMA program (emerging scientists working in universities) was canceled; A budget was allocated to promote projects of immigrant teachers for immigrant children; The budget for the reception of up-and-coming scientists at the Ministry of Science and Technology was doubled (through a project in She'an); Funds were added to the scholarship budget for immigrant students and in addition a significant budget was allocated to support returning scientists and more.
The full report on the activities of the committee that worked for the integration of emerging scientists contains letters of thanks sent by the various organizations dealing with the issue.
"I am happy that we turned the committee into a tool that helped up-and-coming scientists, but regret the decision to stop its activity. Up-and-coming scientists contribute a lot to the country through the vast knowledge they possess and the many years of experience they have gained, and not just receive budgeting in vain. I am sorry that precisely when the committee approached the treatment of the main question regarding the criteria established for receiving support for scientists - it was closed. This is how an unfortunate situation continues, according to which the criteria set by the government are still in effect - if Einstein had immigrated to Israel at the age of 61, he would not have been recognized as a scientist," said MK Yasinov, who chaired the Science and Technology Committee's subcommittee on immigrant scientists.
Yasinov hopes that they will understand the importance of the committee and "bring it back to life in the near future", as he said.
