Hospitals Call Strike to Protest Violence Against Medical Staff

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – Israeli hospitals and local health fund clinics have called a 24-hour strike to protest the violent attack on medical staff at Haddasah-Mount Scopus in Yerushalayim on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the hospitals will be on limited Shabbos mode for 24 hours starting Thursday morning, and only surgery of a life-saving nature will be performed.

The family members of a patient who was brought to Haddasah in critical condition erupted in violence after being informed that efforts to save the person had failed.

Dozens of relatives of the deceased proceeded to physically assail intensive care staff, breaking doors and windows, smashing computers and other equipment.

B’chasdei shamayim, staff members sustained only light injuries, and no patients were injured in the mayhem.

Hospital security officers, reinforced by Yerushalaim police, managed to restore order.

Injured staff members were taken for first aid; but everyone at the scene was left in a state of shock, and administrators and social workers arrived at the scene to provide support.

Dr. Tamar Elram issued a statement expressing horror at the incident, saying that “we at Haddasah are dedicated to saving life and easing the pain of the patients…that people who dedicate themelves to their work around the clock, should be assaulted and injured…We cannot be silent until the attackers are punished to the full extent of the law.

Dr. Elram added: “One of the nurses told me, ‘I have been a nurse for 21 years, and this is the first time that I feared for my life.’”

The head of the Histadrut for medical workers said that “an attack on medical personnel is no different from an attack on a police officer in uniform,” and should be treated with the same severity.