doctors protest judicial reform
doctors protest judicial reformEvgeny Reider

The Maccabi and Meuhedet health funds announced today (Tuesday) to the members of the medical staff who work at the funds that they have decided not to pay those who choose to strike tomorrow.

The letter to Meuhedet workers reads: "Dear doctors and nurses of Meuhedat, Hello, the leadership of the Medical Association has announced that it intends to hold a warning strike as a protest against the repeal of the reasonableness standard. The strike is expected to take place tomorrow, 07.19.23, for about two hours, between the hours of 08:30- 10:30 a.m."

"We respect the right of each and everyone to strike, however, it is important for us to inform you that accordingly, we will not be able to pay the remuneration or wages, respectively, for strike hours to both the self-employed and employee.

"As a health organization that has the health of the patients as its primary focus and with the aim of reducing as much as possible the harm to them, we will strive to continue and maintain the appointment routine as much as possible.

"If a medical staff member chooses to strike, the direct manager must be informed in advance so that we can inform the patient and try to find an alternative solution for him," the fund stated.

The Maccabi health fund sent a similar message to its doctors.

Earlier today (Tuesday), the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) announced its decision to hold a warning strike of the healthcare system in response to he impending passage of a bill limiting the Supreme Court's ability to implement the reasonableness standard.

At a disussion on Monday, IMA Chairman Professor Zion Hagay said, "There must not be harm to the healthcare system in Israel, and we will not allow this to happen." He added that, "The vast majority of doctors in Israel are obligated to fight for democracy, for the sake of health and for the sake of the nation's unity."

Last week, Israel Hayom reported that hundreds of doctors called on the Medical Association to act, and at a "White Coat" protest conference, the medical teams called to "go into emergency mode."

"We don't want to get to the point where it's too late, and we haven't done anything," said one of the members of the Medical Association Secretariat before the debate. They want to dismantle all the centers of power and the unions. The secretariat is a microcosm of all the parties, all of them under pressure due to the reasonability clause. However, it is still difficult to say with certainty if a strike will be declared."