Director-General of the Health Ministry, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, denounced the discourse surrounding Rambam Medical Center's staff as racist and inappropriate on Tuesday while visiting wounded soldiers at the hospital.
“The medical teams in our healthcare system are committed to the most noble mission that human beings carry out for others, saving lives, alleviating suffering, and improving quality of life," Bar Siman Tov said, praising the system for continuing to deal with the "difficult national missions placed upon it," both during times of emergencies and peace.
"The trust the system receives stems from our commitment to this mission and from the fact that all parts of Israeli society are represented in the system, both as caregivers and as patients.
"Our shared existence within the healthcare system is not a constraint, but an ideal. It is the secret of our strength, and it should serve as a model for Israeli society as a whole," he added.
In response to one wounded soldier's family's complaints over staff conduct, Bar Siman Tov said that the complaints were reviewed "professionally and objectively" by the hospital director before being rejected.
"I give her and the hospital teams my full backing and trust them completely in the care they provide to every person,” he said.
Bar Siman Tov also added that parents of the wounded soldiers being treated at the hospital told the Health Ministry directly that they knew the healthcare teams at Rambam were doing everything possible to provide the soldiers with the best treatment and rehabilitation.
Standing Together movement visits Rambam Hospital in solidarity
Activists from the Standing Together movement visited the hospital on Tuesday to demonstrate solidarity with the employees. Both Jewish and Arab activists distributed flowers to the medical teams in support.
"We stand with the medical teams who are now under a racist attack. The first to embrace this attack were members of the government of blood, whose only offering is more division and more racism," Amin Amara, a member of Standing Together's leadership, said.
"People in hospitals work day and night to save lives- people who provide care with dedication and endless patience- and now they are being forced to endure racism simply because they are Arabs."