Israel’s Public Health Care System Shuts Down Due to Strike Over Violence Against Medical Staff

The staff of the public health care system in Israel, including hospitals and clinics, was largely shut down on Monday over a strike by medical staff to protest violence against doctors and nurses. The strike is in response to several recent attacks on medical staff, including attacks on two doctors at different women’s health clinics – one by the husband of a patient, and an attack on a pediatrician at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center in which the doctor was physically assaulted by the parents of a 15-month-old boy who was being treated at the hospital. It is not the first time that medical staff have gone on strike over violence against them. In June, doctors staged a two-day strike after several brutal incidents. The medical staff is working on a reduced weekend schedule, except for emergencies, as well as in oncology, hematology, obstetrics and IVF, and in dialysis units. The strike began at 7 a.m. and will last until Tuesday morning.