Hundreds of doctors signed a letter condemning the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) and demanding that it cease all political discourse, particularly regarding the judicial reform plan. The letter follows a previous petition to the IMA immediately after the launch of a healthcare strike in March in protest of the government’s judicial reform plan, which was later condemned as being illegal. “We demand an immediate cessation of all political discourse,” the letter, addressed to IMA chairman Tzion Chagai, states. “Every person has a right, and even a duty, to express his position regarding the issues on the agenda. But this must not be carried within the framework of the health system.” The doctors emphasized in the letter that joining the strike created a breach of trust between doctors and patients. “Many doctors report reactions of fear and mistrust from patients who have a different political opinion than that expressed by the heads of the IMA in the media and via the strike. Patients with a religious appearance fear that they will not receive optimal care from doctors who proudly wear political symbols on their clothes and hang posters of a distinctly political nature on department doors.” The letter also mentioned a case that occurred in a children’s intensive care unit, where political ads were hung on the door of the unit, causing some families to feel uncomfortable “to the point of real fear for the safety of their children who are being treated in the hospital.” “The main essential problem is the contamination of the relationship between doctor and patient and between the medical teams themselves, relationships that have existed until now in wonderful harmony, that knew how to rise above differences of opinion in order to heal, help, and alleviate pain. If we contaminate this remaining area – we are lost.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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