Heal Thyself

Doctors start a hunger strike

As the white-coated physician leaned over his patient, holding a stethoscope to his chest, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But one detail did distinguish the examination from those conducted routinely in Israeli hospitals: the paper pinned to the patient's left sleeve identified him as "Dr. Niksa. Hunger Striker. Orthopedics Department." Throughout Israel last week doctors were collapsing in emergency rooms or working with intravenous tubes hanging from their arms. Of the country's 28 hospitals most were handling nothing but emergency cases, and only four were functioning normally. The reason: 2,700 doctors, convinced that they are underpaid, had launched a hunger strike.

Since the beginning of March, an estimated 90% of Israel's 8,500 physicians have at one time or another abandoned their duties. Opposed to a system under which a specialist with 22 years' experience earns only $467 a month, they have been demanding both a reduction in working hours from 45 to 36 hours a week and an average 100% increase in basic wages. But the doctors won little attention until they took to starving themselves.

In response, the financially constrained government of Prime Minister Menachem Begin initially offered wage increases of 22% (after indexing for inflation) and a work week of 42 hours. Said Finance Minister Yoram Aridor in a typically uncompromising speech: "What kind of society will we have if everyone gets the idea he can go on a hunger strike to get a wage increase?" Finally, after a Cabinet meeting devoted almost entirely to the issue, Begin agreed to meet a delegation of hunger strikers. When the Communists brought a motion of no confidence against the government, the issue sparked one of the most inflamed debates in the history of the Knesset. Health Minister Eliezer Shostak called Labor Opposition Backbencher Yossi Sarid "a loathsome abomination"; Sarid replied, "You are execrably revolting." After a recess, secret negotiations between the strikers and government ministers resumed. At week's end the government seemed to be surrendering to the doctors' demands, while trying to dissuade other professions from following the precedent.

As the debate swung back and forth, so too did public opinion. One poll showed that 35% of Israelis support the doctors, while 29% back the government. But the hunger strike was already beginning to have serious consequences. One man died only hours after the understaffed Ashkelon Hospital sent him home, advising him to consult a doctor not on strike. Meanwhile, all but some 15% of the doctors at Haifa's Rambam Hospital were fasting. If the walkout continues, it could take its toll not only in public patience but also in human lives. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.