"Your questions provided Dr. Davidovitch with an opportunity to outline the concerns of Israeli medical doctors with the proposed judicial reform of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government. It was quite clear that he sees these reforms as ‘a danger to democracy’ and possibly blocking the ability of Israeli citizens and marginalized groups such as the LBGTQ community to have equitable access to services based on the political beliefs of the politicians and/or the religious beliefs of doctors."
July 19, 2023
To: Chris Howden, Host, As It Happens
Nil Köksal, Host – As It Happens
Jeanne Armstrong, Producer- As It Happens
Dear Ms. Armstrong, Mr. Howden and Ms. Köksal,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my appreciation for the interview you hosted with Dr. Nadav Davidovitch, the Head of the School of Public Health at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba on the Tuesday, July 18 episode of As It Happens.
Your questions provided Dr. Davidovitch with an opportunity to outline the concerns of Israeli medical doctors with the proposed judicial reform of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government. It was quite clear that he sees these reforms as ‘a danger to democracy’ and possibly blocking the ability of Israeli citizens and marginalized groups such as the LBGTQ community to have equitable access to services based on the political beliefs of the politicians and/or the religious beliefs of doctors. He also identified the concern that the expert opinion of doctors could be overruled by politicians.
I also appreciated that you asked a question about the impacts of the judicial reforms on the healthcare of Palestinians. Although Dr. Davidovitch acknowledged that he was concerned about the impact, he did not provide any specifics.
Even without these health care reforms, the impact of the occupation on the ability of Palestinians living in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza to access adequate and necessary health services in a timely manner has been well documented.(1) As an occupying power, Israel has an obligation under international law to guarantee the right to health of Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territory. Their failure at meeting this obligation has been documented. (2)
Dr. Davidovitch’s concerns about the impact on the healthcare system in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory are very real . Given the current challenges and barriers for Palestinians accessing health care services, I would ask that you consider doing a follow-up segment and interview with Palestinian doctors working in Israel, East Jerusalem, Gaza and/or the West Bank. I believe that other CBC listeners would appreciate hearing their opinions on the impact of these judicial reforms on the already extremely challenged healthcare system for Palestinians.
I appreciate your consideration of this request. If you wish to discuss this further, please contact me at 250-469-4468.
Sincerely,
Debbie Hubbard
CJPME-Okanagan
Kelowna, British Columbia
- Health Conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. WHO report (May 2023): https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA76/A76_15-en.pdf
- Israel’s Responsibility to Guarantee the Right to Health for Palestinians in the OPT (February 2021):https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/israel-s-responsibility-guarantee-right-health-palestinians