Israel’s HMOs Ordered To Stop Haredi Gender-Segregation

Israel’s Health Ministry ordered HMOs to immediately halt gender-segregated medical services for haredim after a report by Israel’s Attorney General documented the questionable practices – which may have been previously concealed from the public by Israel's former (Deputy) Health Minister Rabbi Yaakov Litzman, a Gerer hasid.

Former (Deputy) Health Minister Rabbi Yaakov Litzman

Israel’s HMOs Ordered To Stop Haredi Gender-Segregation
Shmarya Rosenberg • Failedmessiah.com

Israel’s Health Ministry ordered HMOs to immediately halt gender-segregated medical services for haredim after a report by Israel’s Attorney General documented the questionable practices, Ha’aretz reported.

The gender segregation may have been previously concealed from the public by Israel's former (Deputy) Health Minister Rabbi Yaakov Litzman, a Gerer hasid.

Gender-segregated clinic hours, gender-separate entrances, gender-separate waiting areas, and the like were found in HMOs operating in haredi areas of the country. This appears to violate High Court rulings forbidding public gender segregation.

For example, the report found that the Clalit HMO has a ‘kosher mehadrin’ HMO option that has completely gender-separate clinics for haredim.

The Health Ministry also ordered HMOs not to establish any new types of gender segregation not covered in the AG’s report.

Gender segregation in HMO clinics has dramatically increased because HMOs compete to appease haredi families which often switch from one HMO to another in blocs, similar to haredi bloc voting in elections.

Effective immediately, the HMOs will now have to allow mixed-gender entry and exit from all clinic entrances, and must post signs at all clinic entrances notifying patients of that change.

Also effective immediately, HMO clinics across the country are forbidden to have gender-separate hours. Clinics that now have gender-segregated waiting areas must add a mixed-gender area that is much larger, and each clinic’s staff is required to ensure that the gender-mixed waiting areas are easily accessible “without direct or indirect attempts to prevent patients from accessing the mixed area.”

Clinics that have completely gender-segregated buildings, so there is now one building for women and another for men, must give the Health Ministry a plan to transition within two years to completely gender-mixed clinics.

Related articles

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No Gender Segregation Really Needed At The Western Wall, Liberal Haredi Rabbi Says

The End Of The World As Haredi Rabbis Know It: Israel To Fund Non-Orthodox Rabbis, Break Haredi-Orthodox Monopoly

If Haredim Are Drafted, Israel Will No Longer Be The Jewish National Home, Haredi MK Tells French Ambassador

Comments

[David]

Obviously the Charedim aren't capable of functioning in normal society. There is no halacha against mixed shopping (previous story) or mixed medical facilities. Whatever belief system they are following it is not Jewish and something has to be done about it as it leads to child molestation, violence, disease (via MBP and failure to vaccinate) and theft, not to mention a huge economic burden as they refuse to work or educate themselves, do military service or educate their children.

[David]

Obviously the Charedim aren't capable of functioning in normal society. There is no halacha against mixed shopping (previous story) or mixed medical facilities. Whatever belief system they are following it is not Jewish and something has to be done about it as it leads to child molestation, violence, disease (via MBP and failure to vaccinate) and theft, not to mention a huge economic burden as they refuse to work or educate themselves, do military service or educate their children.

[Reuven]

You would think with all the Torah Study they do, they could contain themselves from lusting after the opposite gender in a doctor's office. I guess not....

[Barry]

Not only that with all the Torah Study, you would think that they would never get ill or need to see a doctor.

Perhaps if they stopped wearing wristwatches they would have as long a life as the Chazon Ish whose holiness resulted him being 'zocheh' to live a life starting and ending in the same year as that other kannai of that generation, Josef Stalin.

[Gevezener Chusid]

Of course child molestation, violence, disease, and theft are unique social problems unknown outside of the non-charedi world.

David, I sincerely hope that whatever non-segregated HMO you use has good proctologists in the network. They would certainly enjoy working with you.

[Sarek]

Reuven makes an excellent point. How come Torah study protects Israel from its enemies (just as it protected the European holy from the Nazis), but it is incapable of protecting its holy students from everyday diseases?

[Robert J. Barron, Attorney-at-Law]

@David- I could not agree more.

@Gevezener Chusid - No one is saying that "child molestation, violence, disease and theft" are unique social problems unknown outside the (sic) non-charedi world. That's not what David said at all.

But what David (I think) is inferring, and what myself and others have said here previously, is that the refusal of the haredi population to engage AT ALL with the outside world, (or only to the extent necessary for survival) and the apparent belief that non-haredi laws (laws passed by the "goyim") do not apply to them, facilitate a community and a lifestyle where child molestation, violence disease and theft continues because it is seen by everyone in that community as acceptable behavior.

Just as an example- that's how the Domestic Violence in the haredi community is passed on. Domestic Violence is generational- if little Reuven sees Dad beating on Mom, and he sees Mom cower and endure it, then the odds are quite significant that when Reuven gets married, he's going to do the same thing to his wife.

And there's nothing holy about that.

[Sarek]

("Dr. Robert", The Beatles)

Ring my friend I said you’d call Dr. Reuben
He’ll be there any time at all three days a week, Dr. Reuben

Dr. Reuben,
You’re a religious holy man
So we know you understand
Alternate days women are banned, Dr. Reuben

Kosher clinics will segregate, Dr. Reuben
You can’t be gay, you must be straight, Dr. Reuben
Dr. Reuben, his clinic is glatt kosher
Just like his own grocer
No bad magazines to censor, Dr. Reuben

Well, well, well, no women in sight
Well, well, well, they’re separate, Dr. Reuben

So what if it’s the Health Minster, Dr. Reuben
We set our own rules to suit ourselves, Dr. Reuben

Dr. Reuben,
You’re a religious holy man
So we know you understand
Alternate days women are banned, Dr. Reuben

Well, well, well, no women in sight
Well, well, well, they’re separate, Dr. Reuben

Ring my friend, I said you’d call Dr. Reuben
Ring my friend, I said you’d call Dr. Reuben
Dr. Reuben

[Broadway Ali]

Has this ever been addressed?

What if a Haredi needed an organ transplant, liver, kidney, heart, but the only available donated organs came from women?

[Jake]

The Inspector General issues these reports not the Attorney General.

To say Litzman was covering this up is simply yellow Journalism.
These programs have been going on for years. 100,000 of thousands have been patients. There are at least 4 different sick funds running these programs.

The sick funds don't do this to appease charedeim but rather to provide a service that is wanted.

In places like Modiin Illit this makes sense.the population s 99.999999%
Charedei. It is a city built fr charedeim.

In Modiin ,it wouldn't apply. It is a mixed city of all types of people.

I suppose all inpatient hospital rooms will be coed now.

[dov]

Not far enough!! Time to end gender segregated restrooms! In most private homes there are no such segregation, why in HMOs?
------------------------
I'm with you. MORE gender segregation is needed, not less. We need to segregate the entire Haredi male population from the female immediately. The females will live on land and the males must live at the bottom of the ocean. Fair enough? Sounds good to me. I hope you enjoy your segregation. :)

[!]

not a good idea to pose in front of the backdrop used for newborn infants' first formal photos.
Makes him and his policies seem infantile...oh wait.. they are. Now it all makes sense.

[dov]

Don't mention the word "infant" or some haredi might get a boner thinking about metzizah b'peh. Those infant boys are such little teases.

[Jeff]

"Of course child molestation, violence, disease, and theft are unique social problems unknown outside of the non-charedi world."

The point is that Haredim claim these problems don't exist AT ALL in their holy society.

[Jeff]

David, perhaps you should change your pseudonym to "Real David", to distinguish you from idiot David, who still doesn't understand that if the blogowner repeatedly deletes his comments, it's inappropriate for him to keep posting them.