A 32-year-old woman was indicted earlier this week, for forging her doctor's license to practice medicine and her university degree, both used to secure a job with Israel emergency medical services, MDA and the private Assuta Hospital in Tel Aviv despite having no medical training or an academic degree at all.
More stories:
Amal Jaberin, according to the charges, began working as an intern at the MDA blood bank in April 2019 while her uniform described her as a medical doctor, a position that not only commanded respect but also yielded a considerable salary as well as a tax exemption.
In 2021, just two and a half years later, Jaberin began a residency at the Assuta Hospital's laboratories. There too she was identified as a medical doctor and "carried out routine jobs required in the lab."
After she requested last year, to be allowed to take a Health Ministry exam for lab staff, needed for her to be accepted into a permanent position, officials realized she had presented a bogus biography, in which she claimed to have graduated the Hebrew University Medical School, and a false medical license number, which belonged to someone else.
Assuta Hospital administrators summoned her to a meeting over the ministry's allegations. There Jaberin reaffirmed her claim that her documentation was legitimate and even attempted to prove her contention by sending an e-mail to a false address of a physician. After being summoned again to another meeting convened to determine the truth, Jaberin failed to appear and her employment was terminated.
She is charged with numerous crimes including forging official documents, use of forged documents, aggravated fraud and impersonating a registered health professional.
Her lawyer said Jaberin denied the allegations and claimed that the prosecution was more interested in headlines than in justice. "These are mere charges and my client is innocent until proven otherwise," he said.