The Israel Medical Association (IMA) announced on Tuesday that doctors and nurses are engaging in a “warning strike” on Wednesday against the government. During the two-hour strike, which will take place from 8:30-10:30 a.m., medical staff will cancel any non-urgent procedures and refuse to work in hospitals and medical clinics. Dr. Idit Matot, the Director of the Anesthesia, Pain, and Intensive Care at Ichilov Hospital at Tel Aviv, and one of the leaders of the anarchist protests told Channel 12 News: “I prefer to die because I took action rather than die slowly by having my rights trampled every day.” She continued by claiming that the judicial reform will lead to discriminatory practices in medical care but did not provide any examples or evidence of her claims. This is not the first time that the leaders of the IMA have hijacked it for political purposes despite the fact that thousands of doctors who belong to the union are adamantly opposed to it, with some afraid to openly express their opposition. Over 600 doctors signed a petition condemning the IMA’s strike in March, and a similar number signed a letter opposing the strike on Wednesday. Channel 12 News reported on Monday that “500 doctors signed a letter of opposition to the health system’s strike and call to the head of the union ‘to stop the madness.'” The letter, sent to the chairman of the IMA, Prof. Tzion Hagay, states: “We, hundreds of doctors, most of us members of the Medical Association (and some of us left it when it started to adopt a political view), view with sorrow and shock the threats of the leadership of the Medical Association to shut down the health system. We apologize to the Israeli public for the irresponsible behavior of a small and vocal group of our medical colleagues who conduct themselves in a scandalous manner, threatening and pushing for a strike – based on the sowing of disinformation, baseless statements, and distorted interpretations. They invent a scenario of an erosion of the characteristics of democracy in Israel, and as a result, imaginary harm to medicine only because people with opinions different from their own were elected to the government.” “It is mind-boggling to see doctors abandoning their medical work during demonstrations and protests, directly harming their patients. It is sad to see doctors bringing protest symbols into the treatment space, damaging the patient’s trust. The same doctors also create a false representation, as if all doctors in the State of Israel have one political opinion, and impudently blacken the name of the public health system in Israel. We call for the complete separation of any political position from professional and medical conduct and strongly protest all the false delusions and attempts at intimidation that our members are adopting in order to force their political opinion on Israeli society.” “The Medical Association, being a workers’ organization, is supposed to represent us as such. For political issues, we choose our representatives in the Knesset. We call on you to come to your senses. Stop this madness. Don’t threaten the citizens of Israel with a strike, don’t harm patients in violation of the doctor’s oath. Occupy yourselves with medicine and its advancement – this is the only mandate you received from us.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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