Fearing that Israelis who oppose the COVID vaccine, particularly for use in children, will turn to violence against medical professionals who advocate Israel's vaccine policy, senior Health Ministry officials have reached out to ministry Director-General Professor Nachman Ash, imploring him for help.
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In a letter sent to Ash, heads of a Health Ministry committee charged with probing misconduct by anti-vaxxer doctors Dr. Iris Leitersdorf and Dr. Eyal Hako wrote that there had been "a significant increase in personal slander by vaccine refusers and marketers of alternative means of preventing and treating COVID."
Leitersdorf and Hako are the heads of the Advisory Committee for the Examination of Public Misleading in the Advertising of Health Products, Medical Technologies and the Medical Professions.
The two wrote that while incidents of verbal abuse against committee members have occurred in the past, "there has been a significant increase in recent weeks after the expansion of the inoculation campaign to another [third] dose and to include children over the age of 12. The incitement began at the very beginning of the morbidity by vaccine refusers and drug marketers, who took advantage of the pandemic to make a profit."
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the committee has dealt with several doctors – some holding senior positions in public hospitals across Israel – whose publications spread false and misleading information about the coronavirus and vaccines.
In their letter, Leitersdorf and Hako included a post from social media, the author of which said of one committee member that "he should have rotted in prison a long time ago." It also included information about a top doctor who continued to participate in Zoom conferences on "the danger of vaccinating" children and mothers, despite having been warned by the ministry before.
"We do our job faithfully even at these challenging times," the letter continued. "However, we now feel that we have become targets, and in recent days, that there is even a danger of physical violence. We beseech you, ministry director-general, to warn in every way possible about the increase of verbal violence against the ministry's employees and to immediately investigate the doctors and people who committed these acts."
A source involved in the matter told Israel Hayom, that in response to the letter, Ash wrote to committee members that "to some extent, all of us, including the minister [Nitzan Horowitz], are going through something similar. I am with you, and we have no choice but to deal with these refusers. We must halt their efforts. You are doing a fantastic job, and you have greatly contributed to the success of the vaccination campaign. I know this is not easy, similar to many other things we do in order to deal with the coronavirus."
In an official statement published after receiving the letter, the ministry said: "There has been an increase and deterioration in verbal violence, incitement and even threats directed against the ministry's employees in the context of their professional work. The Health Ministry views cases recently submitted by the Committee for the Examination of Public with severity, and a meeting has been convened to examine ways to deal with the matter.
"The Health Ministry will update those involved accordingly," it said. "In addition, materials in question have been handed over to the police, and complaints will be filed as needed. The Health Ministry works in cooperation with the Israel Police to secure workers who are being threatened in accordance with the Israel Police's definition and guidelines."
Meanwhile, the management of the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa filed a complaint with the Israel Police on Tuesday after a man sent the hospital e-mails in which he called its staff "Nazi doctors."
Rambam General Director Dr. Michael Halberthal said in a statement that "the person who wrote the abusive e-mails – who seems to be a vaccine opposer – compared Rambam's doctors to Nazis, and crossed a red line in profanity and incitement. These are statements that cannot be swept under the rug and must be put to an end."
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