Thousands of doctors considering jobs outside Israel after Knesset vote

Health Ministry director-general implores doctors to stay, in Zoom call after physicians join WhatsApp group sharing intentions to leave the country and exchange information on where best to find work
Adir Yanko|Updated:
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
The Director General of the Health Ministry, Moshe Bar Siman-Tov on Wednesday held a Zoom meeting with senior physicians to discuss the intentions of many doctors to leave Israel and find work elsewhere amid the government's legislative push to overhaul the judiciary.
<< Follow Ynetnews on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok >>
More stories:
After nearly one-third of doctors joined a WhatsApp group to consider relocating abroad, ScienceAbroad , a non-profit that has been working to bring people in the science and medicine professions to Israel, initiated the call and sounded the alarm.
3 View gallery
בילינסון
בילינסון
Doctors go on strike in protest of the bill curing court oversight of the government
"When I first entered the WhatsApp group there were 30 doctors in it but since there has been a tsunami of over 2,000 who say they are considering emigrating. Including senior physicians, residents and interns," Professor Rivka Karmi, ScienceAbroad chairman said. "I admit I am physically shaken. Nothing prepared me for such a possibility that I find even more dangerous than the refusal of pilots to volunteer to serve. Even if most ultimately stay, this is a very problematic process. These people are exhausted and feel like their protest has failed," she said.
3 View gallery
מסיבת עיתונאים של רופאי מילואים ואחים לנשק
מסיבת עיתונאים של רופאי מילואים ואחים לנשק
Doctors volunteering in the IDF reserves say they will refuse to serve
(Photo: Yair Sagi)
Bar Siman-Tov said he was still trying to grasp the situation and understands the strong emotions. "We all live in the same space and these feelings are understood," he said. "We all know we have no other country and no other health system which is representative of our people and is an example of how we can live together," he said.
"I really don't think anyone of has the privilege to give up on the country," he said adding that the code of ethics of Israel's health system is to work according to the values of justice, equality and mutual assistance.
"Don't give up on us," he said. "Stay take part in articulating the rules by which we will act. The health minister has been advised about our meeting and we are committed to making sure you will be able to make the right calls and prevent an impact on our system. I implore you. We must keep up our commitment to the Israeli public," he said.
3 View gallery
משה בר סימן טוב
משה בר סימן טוב
Moshe Bar Siman-Tov
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
In the WhatsApp group doctors shared information about contacts with other countries and where the Israeli license to practice medicine is accepted. "It's shocking," said Professor Dina Ben-Yehuda, head of hematology at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. "I saw in the group doctors I studies and specialized with me. The pain is great and to me, this is more a cry for help and a protest. I want to hug each of them and am sorry that they are feeling this way," she said adding that Israel is already suffering from a shortage of physicians and by 2026 will have the least number of doctors per capita than any other developed nation. "I see people from all political persuasions in the group," she said.
"People fear for their personal and professional lives," 30-year-old Tomer Rosenberg, a Medical student told Ynet in an interview. "I am afraid to go home in my scrubs because I've already been abused by people on the train. They say we are "rich and privileged," he said adding that such encounters although not daily, were increasing.
First published: 00:31, 07.27.23
17Comments
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
12.
I don't get it.
As an ola from the US, I learned that Democracy is where the people vote, and the majority wins. So, i understand that unelected judges "kinda of" bias can not only appoint whomever they want but rule in any way they see fit including getting rid of decisions made in the Knesset. Maybe I don't get it but it seems to me that this kind of thing destroys the purpose of voting. There is no fairness in this. Worse yet, how can doctors put politics above saving lives? So much for the "hypocritical" oath. My husband is a physican, but he will not abandon his patients for politics.
Riva| 07.30.23
00
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
11.
my way or the highway!
Ynet is a propagand network just like CNN and MSNBC. Who are they funded by anyways?? And what a headline for such Bull!! If the want to fill a jumbo and leave they would have already! You have to be half senseless to make such a move, but lets see if they will do it... maybe Ynet will be credited with helping. Who ever heard of such childness?? Leave a country when the government wants to curb the power of the big institutions!! I compare that to the left leaving the States under Trump! Fool hearty! The right has been taking $hit for years and years and now when it's the left's turn to take their own medicine then they get up and leave! I'd say MORE POWER TO THEM!! But lets not be fooled when a left-leaning 'paper' tries to encourage despair!
07.28.23
30
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
The right has not been taking
$hit for years and years, it has been enjoying the power for 40 years all while abusing it...
dil| 07.29.23
01
add comment
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
Load more talkbacks
""