The names of the first two Israeli Rhodes Scholars are to be announced next week, following a campaign for Israel to join the list of participating countries.
The drive for Israeli students to be eligible for the prestigious scholarship has been going on behind the scenes for many years.
Gary Pickholz, chairman of the Weird Science Lab at Oxford University, who has long campaigned for the inclusion of Israel on the list of candidate countries, said the announcement was encouraging for Israeli research and academia.
“We are ecstatic at the decision to include Israel in the most prestigious scholarship awarded,” said Mr Pickholz. “We are also delighted that Israel will become a regular annual candidate country. This should significantly assist the UK’s academic research at the most elite level.”
