The Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health, Professor Itamar Grotto, on Friday replied in a letter to the Ministry’s Director General, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, following the uproar over the exemption from isolation he gave to billionaire Teddy Sagi.
"During my many years as a public servant in the Israeli medical system, I have had the privilege of making a huge variety of decisions in countless areas related to public health in Israel and in the world,” wrote Grotto.
“In retrospect, I am sure some of my decisions were right and justified, and some, unfortunately – were not. Although medicine is a science - it has never been and never will be an exact science. Many decisions I have made as a public servant who is, first and foremost, a doctor, will not always be clear and understandable to non-doctors, and some will not always be right. For every case where my judgment was wrong, and a decision that followed was wrong, I apologize.”
Grotto added, "There is a wide gap between this apology of mine and the amount of slander and assaults on me in recent days.”
He noted, "The claim that I helped Mr. Teddy Sagi because he is a billionaire is ridiculous. As you know, throughout my years in the Ministry of Health, it has been my custom to assist everyone who approaches me, the poor and the rich, the Jewish and Arab, the secular and religious, and the socially disadvantaged communities, such as Ethiopian immigrants, LGBTs, people with disabilities and more.”
“I helped Teddy Sagi just like I helped everyone else under similar circumstances and if I was wrong - that mistake would have been done for any other person."
The uproar began after Channel 12 revealed that Grotto approved an exemption from isolation for Sagi when he entered the country from abroad.
Sagi arrived on his private plane from Cyprus and attended a party on the roof of a building in Tel Aviv in the presence of singer Omar Adam and other celebrities - all in contravention of the Ministry of Health's restrictions. Sagi claimed that Grotto had granted him the exemption from isolation and it was indeed verified that Grotto approved the unusual request without it passing the conventional procedure.
Health Minister Edelstein said in response to the report, "Especially at a time when a great deal of effort is being made to explain to the public the importance of complying with the Ministry of Health's guidelines and when we call for increased enforcement, there may not be exemptions from isolation that endanger public health. This is a serious violation of public trust and a grave error of judgment. In such cases, I will not be forgiving.”
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)