Israeli Army Admits Abnormal Cancer Rate at Army Base

Following weeks of protests by concerned parents of soldiers that began after a television station’s investigative report, the Israeli army has admitted that an abnormally high incidence of Hodgkins Lymphoma exists among infantry soldiers who trained at a base in the southern region of the country. The army’s chief medical officer made the admission to the parliament’s interior committee. The Ministry of Health has confirmed the findings. Fifty-eight soldiers from the Tel Arad base developed some form of cancer between 1994 and 2004, compared with 47 and 43, respectively, at the training bases of other units. The rates of the latter units are consistent with those affecting the general population. The committee urged the army to evacuate the base immediately.