Israel's Nurses Go On Strike, Doctors Outraged Over Government's Handling of New Outbreak

JERUSALEM, Israel – Nurses in Israel went on strike Monday morning after complaining of being over-worked and suffering from staffing shortages as the country struggles to battle a second wave of the coronavirus.

The strike comes after talks between the Finance Ministry and the National Association of Nurses broke down overnight. The nurses blame the ministry for not allocating enough of the nation’s budget towards hospital staff.

“We explained the situation to the director-general of the Finance Ministry. It should be understood that the shortage of nurses did not start with the coronavirus [pandemic]. The responsibility is the treasury’s and they had time to resolve this. We are on strike tomorrow,” National Nurses Union head Ilana Cohen told Israel’s Kan public broadcaster Sunday.

Coronavirus and oncology wards will not be affected by the strike but surgery rooms will operate with reduced staff and all non-urgent operations will be postponed, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

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Nurses will not be working in any health clinics, daycare centers, and health maintenance organizations. Hospital wards housing patients will operate with skeletal staff.

Cohen warned in a letter to Finance Minister Israel Katz last week that nurses and patients have been “abandoned” and the Israeli health system is “drying up.”

“It is no longer possible [to continue]. The system is down, period,” she said. “What we need at the moment is manpower.”

A group of some 130 Israeli doctors also publically chastised the government's handling of the outbreak in a letter to the Health Ministry.

The physicians blasted Israeli leaders for imposing widespread restrictions on the entire population leading to "economic ruin and human suffering among millions of Israelis."

Instead, they argue that the government should focus on protective measures against high-risk members of the population instead of crippling nationwide lockdowns.

“Large amounts of resources are turned to closures and epidemiological tracking of young, healthy people who have no real risk of dying, something which accomplishes nothing but their economic ruin," they wrote.

“The voices of many doctors who disagree with the policies of the Health Ministry have been silenced and crushed," they added.

The Health Ministry on Sunday evening reported that 254 people in Israel are in serious condition, up from just 40 people one month ago.

The Knesset Coronavirus Committee failed Sunday to come to any conclusion regarding new restrictions it will impose on the country to curb the virus. However, government leaders agreed that beaches should be kept open during the weekends because they are relatively safe and infections are more likely to happen in enclosed spaces.

The government will continue deliberating on Monday over new restrictions it may order the public to follow.

So far, more than 50,700 people have been infected with the virus in Israel and 415 people have died.

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