I've met muslim israeli who have learnt italian to go to study medicine in italy (where there is a notoriously extremely difficult entrance exam) because all of this was easier than going to a local university.
A lot of this has to do with Americans going to Israeli medical schools who take up the space, and it is doubtful this has to do with the individual you met who was Muslim.
This past year Israel actually banned/limited the number of Americans who can enroll in their medical schools. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-ends-lucrative-american...
Edited to include link
1. There is actually affirmative action for Arab Israelis.
2. A lot of Israelis (Jewish and Arab alike) go study medicine abroad. You need a near perfect score on the SAT-equivalent exam to get into med school in Israel (not enough spots, too many applicants).
Here’s a source countering https://www.timesofisrael.com/number-of-arab-students-in-isr...
Me, I have personally met people doing it, while being a student myself.
From your link: > In postgraduate programs, the proportion of Arab students rose 60% from 3.9% to 6.3%.
If you have 0 students and then you get one, it increases ∞%, but sometimes looking at the % in the title, which is just a Δ of the actual % doesn't tell the whole story.