2 Israeli universities listed among top 100 worldwide in Shanghai Ranking

Two of Israel’s research universities — the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute of Science — are among the top 100 universities in the world, according to the 2026 Shanghai Ranking, released Saturday.

The latest ranking saw the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology fall out of the top 100.

The Hebrew University was ranked 89th in the world, a slight fall from 88th place last year, and Weizmann came in at 71st — the same position it held last year.

Three Israeli universities — the Technion, ranked 97th last year, fell into the 101-150 range (no exact number given); Tel Aviv University was at 151-200; and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was at 401-500.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities, compiled annually by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy in Shanghai, China, is considered an accurate ranking of academic excellence.

Some 2,500 universities worldwide are considered, and they are ranked based on several indicators, especially the number of faculty and alumni who have received international prizes and the volume and quality of their publications in peer-reviewed journals.

The top 10 spots were held by universities from the United States and the UK: Harvard University was number one, followed by Stanford, MIT, University of Cambridge, UC Berkeley, Princeton, University of Oxford, Columbia, University of Chicago and Caltech.

The drop in rankings for Israeli schools comes alongside a brain drain, as large numbers of well-educated, highly skilled Israelis moved abroad in increased numbers in recent years.

The trend apparently began in 2023, when the government’s contentious plans to overhaul the judiciary led to mass protests and raised fundamental questions regarding the stability of Israel’s foundational institutions, with the situation worsening in the almost three years since the start of the multifront war on October 7, 2023.