Around 200,000 of Israel’s 2.1 million Arab citizens of Israel work in the country’s health care system, where their contribution is incalculable. About one-quarter of Israel’s physicians, dentists and nurses are Arab, as are around half of the country’s pharmacists. But claims of a culture of coexistence to the country, a recent study by Physicians for Human Rights – Israel reveals a different picture: Since the October 7, 2023 massacre carried out by Hamas and other Palestinian militants from Gaza in southern Israel, the system is engaged in persistent silencing and persecution, with some Arab staff members forced to conceal their identity in order to keep their jobs.
