Arrogance and abuse: Members of the medical committee called a disabled IDF soldier "an idiot and a jobber" - and the Tel Aviv District Court ordered the committee's decisions to be invalidated and recommended that the Defense Ministry record what happened in its medical committees.
Y. S., 59, from the central region, has been recognized as a disabled IDF soldier for over 20 years. He suffers mainly from hearing problems and impaired sense of taste. In recent years, his condition has worsened and he decided to contact a medical committee about 10 months ago to reassess his health and re-determine the disability percentages assigned to him.
In an appeal petition he filed with the Tel Aviv District Court, through his lawyer Omer Yavetz'(IDF disabled person and activist for the disabled in the IDF Disabled People's Organization), Y. S. recounts what he went through at the medical committee, when the committee doctors determined that there was no connection between his recognized disability and his complaints, while ignoring the simple fact that the cause of the disability was caused and confirmed more than 20 years ago. The committee members made a mistake when they asked to test Y. S.'s sense of taste, using a metal paper clip that was placed on the table, without the disabled person's permission, and causing him to scratch his tongue and teeth, instead of sending him for an EGM taste test, which tests for such conditions.
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But the climax came when Y. S. protested to the committee members about the dismissive attitude they were showing toward his claims. One of the doctors on the committee raised his voice at him, calling him an "idiot" several times, and another doctor added the adjective "jobnik.".
It was only recently revealed that the Ministry of Defense had established regulations according to which a disabled person who behaves inappropriately or raises his voice when appearing before a medical committee will be removed and not allowed to appear before the committee for five months - and his rights will be revoked. When Y. S. filed a complaint against the committee members, he discovered that the Ministry of Defense regulations only refer to the disabled and there is no sanction against doctors who use verbal violence.
Tel Aviv District Court Judge Hedva Weinbaum-Woltzky rejected the claim of the compensation officer's representative, according to which a committee member told Y. S. that he was a "layman" and not an "idiot." The judge ruled that the committee exceeded its authority, acted violently and biasedly towards the appellant, and quoted him in a biased and incorrect manner in the minutes, and ordered the compensation officer at the Ministry of Defense to refer Y. S. for a retrial before a different medical committee, with the documents of the hearing, the appeal, and the decisions of the previous committee not being provided to the new committee, so that it could consider the request without any prior opinion.
The judge further notes that, in light of the numerous recent allegations regarding the conduct of the committees, it is appropriate to record the committee's deliberations.
