The Israeli public feels that science and scientific research are a prime source of national pride, a survey undertaken by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shown.

The survey, aimed at determining the public’s attitude towards science and scientific researchers, also revealed that a substantial portion of the public feels that more resources should be allocated to science and research.

The survey was conducted on March 2 among a sampling of 500 people in Israel by the MarketWatch company.

The results showed that a university researcher was seen by the public as one of the most prestigious professional positions, just below that of a physician and ahead of business people, accountants, lawyers and military personnel.

The least highly regarded professions in the eyes of those surveyed were bankers, members of Knesset, and communications and religious figures. Among those surveyed who had children, 16% chose university researcher as their most desired aspiration for them, second only to physician (19%). Nearly 60% of all of those surveyed said that science and research were for them a source of national pride. Only the fields of high-tech at 65% and medicine 62% scored higher in this regard. Other results on the scale of national pride included security forces (57%), sports (22%), the arts (17%), education (11%) and government (2%). About 50% of those questioned thought that the state of Israel does not invest enough resources in research and science or does not invest in them at all. Only 19% thought that the government invested enough or even a good deal of resources in this regard. Most of the other respondents felt the support was so-so.

When asked about the issue of “brain drain” from Israel, 41% thought that this phenomenon was due to lower salaries in academia than abroad, 17% thought the main reason was a lack of available positions, 14% thought that scientists held a higher position in society abroad than in Israel, and 11% thought the scientific infrastructure in Israel was at a lower level than elsewhere. Interestingly, only 8% thought that the reason was a higher standard of living abroad. When asked if they could identify Israeli Nobel Prize winners, 58% successfully identified at least one prize winner, while 65% could identify the name of at least one participant in the popular TV show Big Brother. Only a few could identify more than one Israeli Nobel winner. Fifty-eight percent said they believe that a university researcher works ten hours or more per day.

Hebrew University President Prof.Menahem Ben-Sasson said that the findings of the survey show that the greater public appreciates the contribution of science to society. “The findings raise hopes that the framers of public policy will be attentive and establish a national policy scale in line with the expressions in this survey,” he said. According to Ben-Sasson, “This understanding of the public about science is a refreshing message on National Science Day, both for the Hebrew University and for higher education in Israel generally.

But one has to note that despite the public conceptions about the economic reasons for the Israeli ‘brain drain,’ the real reason is the superior scientific infrastructure that exists abroad as compared to Israel.”

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