Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR-I)

Group 2Breanne CarterBrittany BrownPaula BransfieldTyler BrousseauLindsay Bradley

Shannon Buckley

PHR-I Presentation Overview

Brief history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

Health and human rights situation in Israel.

Objectives of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR-I).

Case studies.

Conflict History A mere 10,000 square miles, Israel has cultural

and religious significance for both the Jewish and the Muslim communities.

The Jewish people believe Israel represents the land promised to Moses by God, and Jerusalem is home to the site of Solomon’s Temple.

The city of Jerusalem is also the site where, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad ascended to heaven (al-Aqsa mosque).

Conflict History 1948- The modern conflict begins with efforts

to establish a State of Israel and the War of Independence.

1957- The development of the Fatah Organization (Yasser Arafat).

1964- The development of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

Conflict History 1967- Six-day War - Armed conflict between

Israel and Egypt (backed by other Arab states). In the aftermath Israel acquired extensive territory bringing approximately one million Palestinian Arabs under Israeli control.

1969- War of Attrition (Suez Canal). 1973- The October War (Yom Kippur War) - Oil

Embargo.

Conflict History 1987-1991- First Intifada. A revolt by local

settlers in the West Bank and Gaza involving small arms resistance to the Israeli occupation.

1993-1995 – Oslo Peace Process. 2000- Second Intifada. Violence erupts on

September 28, 2000 triggered by Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

2003- Disengagement Plan

Source: http://mideastweb.org

Health and Human Rights Issues in Israel

There is a question of how Israel has approached the right to health of Palestinian residents of the occupied territories from the start of the occupation.

Israeli society has become apathetic to human suffering in general and denies responsibility over the Palestinians.

Israel’s continued control of border crossings, import policies, lands, housing, registration, etc is preventing the development of an independent Palestinian medical system that would be capable of providing adequate healthcare.

Health and Human Rights Issues in Israel

PHR-Israel demands that Israel remove all restrictions on movement in the Occupied Territories and enable Palestinian and international bodies to operate in the field – to develop an independent health system that is both economically and professionally viable.

Civil Administrators have set up obstacles for Palestinians in need of medical care.

Mass detention in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions are taking place.

Health and Human Rights Issues in Israel

PHR Israel seeks to improve equal access to healthcare, and minimize the outbreak of violence.

 Violence: An act or omission, acute or chronic,

causing diminution of mental, physical

or social well-being.

Frequently draws attention to structural and cultural violence as they impede equal access to health care.

Addressing Structural & Cultural Barriers to the Equal

Administration of Health Care

Access to Occupied Territories. Stressing Health Issues in Peace

Negotiations Monitoring Health Officials. Functioning as a “Medical Neutrality”

Watch Dog.

It was apparent that human rights violations in the form of systematic and official denial of access to medical care, the intentional infliction of bodily injury, torture and neglect of prisoners, grossly substandard medical care and facilities in the occupied territories and East Jerusalem, administrative detention and solitary confinement were issues that demanded attention. Therefore, PHR-Israel was founded to address these very issues.

Physicians for Human Rights – Israel

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, independent, voluntary organization that was founded in March 1988 at the height of the Intifada by Israeli and Palestinian physicians who realized that the issue of human rights and medical care are integral parts of the same struggle.

Today Physicians For Human Rights-Israel has more than 1150 members, over half of whom are healthcare providers. PHR members share a supreme regard for the integrity of the human body and spirit, and attach deep significance to close Israeli-Palestinian cooperation which serves as a bridge between the people.

Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

What do they do?

Protect the right of individuals to receive medical care in Israel whenever services in Palestinian areas are unavailable.

Coordinate free diagnostic and therapeutic services at clinics operated by PHR members.

Secure entry permits from Israeli authorities to ensure freedom of movement for Palestinian patients and healthcare professionals traveling between Palestinian areas and East Jerusalem.

Run an on-site clinic in the West Bank that services over 200 patients per month with free medical exams.

Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

What do they do? Defend medical rights of detainees and

prisoners. Campaign against the use of torture through

lobbying and public awareness. Operate an independent Child Medical Fund that

subsidizes urgent medical procedures and equipment for indigent Palestinian children.

Build bridges between Israeli and Palestinian medical professionals and communities.

Address the tragic plight of foreign workers in Israel and their lack of access to adequate health care services.

Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

What do they do?

Visit hospitals in the Gaza Strip, and protest against the use of medical care as a means of controlling the local population.

Run a mobile clinic in the Occupied Territories, and an open clinic in Tel Aviv that provides services for all within Israel who have no legal status and therefore no health insurance.

Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

What do they do?

-        These initiatives fall under five main projects:

The Occupied Territories Project. The Prisoners and Detainees Project.The Migrant Workers and Refugees Project. The Project for the Unrecognized Villages

of the Negev. The Residents of Israel Project.

 

Physicians for Human Rights – Israel

How do they do it? By providing individual solutions on a case by case basis

through direct intervention with military and government offices.

By building public support to separate medicine from politics and promote the concept of medical human rights.

By seeking durable changes for chronic problems through Supreme Court appeals and government policy review.

By actively lobbying government bodies. By engaging in public campaigns designed to raise public

awareness and effect change by exerting pressure on policy makers.

Sources: www.phr.org.il/ & www.phrusa.org/healthrights/phr_israel.html

PHR – I Case StudiesCase Study One.

During the Jewish festivals from August 9, 2004 to November 18, 2004 the Erez checkpoint was completely closed except in urgent medical circumstances in which special permits were necessary.

On September 19, 2004 a group of four children with cancer arrived at the Erez checkpoint at 6 a.m. At 1 p.m. that day the parents of the children contacted Physicians for Human Rights Israel for help. The parents were concerned with the impact the lengthy wait was having on their already sick children who appeared to be getting weaker and weaker as they waited without food and water in the blazing heat.

After waiting 13 hours the children and parents were allowed to pass through to Israel.

The next day, one of the children who had been forced to wait died from exhaustion.

Source: http://www.phr.org.il/phr/files/articlefile_1123056221410.doc

PHR-I Case StudiesCase Study Two

A 30-year-old computer expert was arrested from his home in Hebron around 2:00 AM April 22nd 1995 by members of the Israeli Defence Force and the General Security Service. He was transferred to the Moscobiyyah Detention Centre in Jerusalem for interrogation.

He lost consciousness during interrogation and was transferred to the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital. A CT scan showed malignant brain edema but no evident intracranial haemorrhage. He was declared brain dead on April 25th.

An autopsy disclosed extensive anterior chest and shoulder bruising and acute subdural haemorrhage but no other trauma. On this evidence, violent shaking was postulated as the mechanism of injury. Later, this was admitted by Israeli investigators and this became the first reported case of fatal shaken adult syndrome of an Israeli prisoner.

Source: Pounder DJ Shaken Adult Syndrome American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 1997;18(4):321-4

PHR-I Case StudiesCase Study Three

Al-Tamimi is currently suffering from kidney failure and is being held in the Israel Prison Service Medical Center. He receives dialysis three times a week but requires a kidney transplant.

Al- Tamimi has a relative who is willing to donate a kidney, but the Israel Prison Service is going to charge Tamimi $100 000 to carry out the transplant. According to international and Israeli law all prisoners have the right to receive medical treatment funded by the prison authority.

In September 2005, PHR-Israel submitted a petition against the prison service’s decision regarding al-Tamimi’s kidney transplant. At the hearing on December 28, 2005, Judge Noga Ohad decided that there should be a correlation between the types of crimes al-Tamimi committed and his right to state-funded medical care.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is in the process of attempting to disqualify Judge Noga Ohad from this case.

Source: http://www.phr.org.il/phr/article.asp?articleid=299&catid=57&pcat=46&lang=ENG

Food for thought"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear

uniforms, or drive Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts sweatshops and special interests. Where people feel powerless, it helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it reminds them of their responsibility.“

~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~