Three Israeli universities secured prestigious positions in the 2025 Shanghai Ranking published Friday, demonstrating academic excellence despite unprecedented challenges from international boycott movements and wartime conditions.
The Weizmann Institute achieved 71st place worldwide, leading Israeli institutions in the global academic ranking. The Hebrew University claimed 88th position, while Technion earned 97th place among the world's top universities.
These achievements carry special significance as Israeli academia faces systematic attacks from international boycott campaigns targeting Israeli educational institutions. Universities operated under extraordinary circumstances, including missile attacks from Iran and Lebanon directed at campus facilities and the extended absence of hundreds of faculty members and students serving military reserve duty.
Professor Alon Chen, president of the Weizmann Institute, highlighted the achievement's importance during this turbulent period. "This achievement is particularly impressive during a challenging period, when Israeli academia as a whole faces unprecedented attacks in the international arena, and our research receives official recognition for the quality of our work. Despite and in spite of the challenges, we will continue to lead groundbreaking research and serve as a bridge of knowledge and science between Israel and the world," Professor Chen declared.
Professor Tamir Sheafer, rector of the Hebrew University and incoming president, emphasized their commitment to academic excellence. "We are proud to continue cultivating an academic environment that promotes critical thinking, research excellence, and innovative teaching. Work that connects between a glorious heritage of 100 years, to groundbreaking work for the future," Professor Sheafer noted.
When university achievements are adjusted for institutional size based on faculty numbers, Technion demonstrates exceptional performance, ranking 28th globally – a testament to its research efficiency and quality output.
Professor Uri Sivan, the Technion's president, characterized the accomplishment as a national mission. "Preserving the status of science and technology in Israel is a national mission of enormous importance, and it is particularly challenging this year, when we faced missiles from Iran and Lebanon that were fired toward the Technion campus and with the absence of hundreds of academic and administrative faculty members and graduate students who were required for hundreds of days of reserve duty. Technion's research and scientific excellence are our response to boycotts against Israel on campuses in North America, Europe, and Australia, and it is proof of the resilience of the Technion family."
Professor Sivan emphasized the collaborative achievement across Israeli higher education. "Preserving Technion's position in the leading constellation of academic institutions in the world is the fruit of joint effort by the academic staff, administrative staff, and Technion management, and it relies on international collaborations that are maintained despite academic boycotts and calls for severing relations with Israeli universities. Our main resources are the excellent human resources and the resilience we demonstrate in the face of difficulties and war. We welcome our partners in the pioneering constellation – the Hebrew University and the Weizmann Institute for Science – partners in advancing Israeli science and cultivating it."
The annual Shanghai Ranking represents one of academia's most credible evaluation systems. Rankings assess institutional research quality through multiple indicators, including Nobel Prize and Fields Medal recipients among faculty and alumni, plus publication volume and quality in premier academic journals. The comprehensive evaluation encompasses approximately 2,500 universities worldwide.
