Doctors (illustrative)
Doctors (illustrative)iStock

The "Bzalmo" organization demanded Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) fight "Physicians for Human Rights" (PHR) and remove the authorization that allows them to give donors a tax deduction under Section 46 of the Income Tax Law.

Bzalmo's mission is to end discrimination between patients and ensure freedom of information.

In a letter to Kahlon, Bzalmo CEO Shai Glick wrote, "Unfortunately, this organization [Physicians for Human Rights] aims to undermine Israel's right to exist. It is an extremist political organization which fights IDF soldiers, participated in the Goldstone Report, gave the names of army doctors to international organizations, and more. The Israel Medical Association has spoken out against this organization, and cut all contact with them."

The Goldstone Report is the name given to the 2009 UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. It accused Israel of war crimes against the residents of Gaza, and contained many other factual inaccuracies and inconsistencies. The report was retracted by author Richard Goldstone in 2011.

In his letter, Glick brought a quote from an interview with PHR founder Dr. Ruchama Marton.

"You're right," Marton told an interviewer from Siha Mekomit. "I'm speaking from a place of 30 or maybe even 50 years of fighting against the occupation. We need external aid. And that means we need BDS."

When the interviewer said working with BDS in Israel isn't simple, Marton replied, "That's an issue for traitors. And the traitors of today are the heroes of tomorrow. Whoever is not willing to pay the price, does not know how to fight. Without paying the price, you fight only for your own reputation. I think that as long as the occupation continues, as long as the apartheid continues, it doesn't matter if you're more loved or less loved. It doesn't matter and you're not really fighting."

This interview was published in English and Hebrew, both in Israel and abroad.

"There is no doubt that the leader of this organization, the person at its head, supports boycotting Israel," Glick concluded. "We cannot separate the organization's founder, who said these things in an interview, from the organization itself."

"I call on your honor [Kahlon] to cancel the organization's Section 46 exemption. This is legal under Section 4 of the Boycott Law, and can be done in cooperation with the Justice Minister and with her approval."