Israeli cabinet ministers heckled out of hospitals as they try to visit the wounded
Member of Israel’s Knesset Idit Silman on June 29, 2022. Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh October 11, 2023
Israeli cabinet ministers faced the wrath of anguished citizens and doctors during visits to local hospitals on Wednesday.
Israel is in mourning after a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people. But the country, before the attacks, had been convulsed for months over a judicial overhaul package pushed by the right-wing government, which has led hundreds of thousands of Israelis to protest in the streets.
“You’ve ruined this country. Get out of here,” a doctor yelled at Idit Silman, a member of the Likud ruling party who serves as environment minister, in Hebrew. Silman had paid a visit to the Assaf Harofeh Hospital in Tsrifin. “How are you not ashamed to wage another war?” another person told her.
The protest at the hospital, which prompted the minister to leave the premises, reflects growing anger with the government’s failure to prevent the Hamas attack — the most serious against the country in decades. Many also fault the government for coming too late to the aid of Israelis in peril.
“Now it’s our turn,” the doctor can be heard screaming in a video published on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We are in charge. We will govern here — right, left, a nation united — without you. You’ve ruined everything!”
השרה עידית סילמן מתקבלת בבוז ובצעקות שבר של אזרחים מיואשים באסף הרופא pic.twitter.com/cHk6H8UXBl
Silman is famous in Israel for helping Benjamin Netanyahu bring down the previous “change” government and return to power. In April 2022, serving as majority whip, Silman bolted from the coalition over a decision by the health minister to allow visitors to bring non-kosher food into hospitals during Passover. Her departure left Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid one vote short of a Knesset majority. Two months later, early elections were called.
Nir Barkat, another Likud minister, also faced angry protesters during a visit to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv. “You understand where you brought us to?” they told him. “Can you see what is happening to us?”
Coalition members have also faced criticism for failing to show up at the funerals of fallen soldiers as they typically do in Israel. According to the Kan broadcast network, the government said the practice is suspended during war.
During a funeral for Yaron Shai, the son of former economy minister Izhar Shai, the soldier’s brother accused the “government of shame” of opening the doors “with its debased actions” to Hamas. Barkat, who serves as economy minister, remained stone-faced.
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