Hemato-oncology dispute mediation begins

Parents say retired Supreme Court justice Elyakim Rubinstein 'listened carefully to our arguments', decline to end hunger strike until positive all sides are 'showing goodwill.'

ELYAKIM RUBINSTEIN (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
ELYAKIM RUBINSTEIN
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
 Mediation in the dispute between the Hadassah Medical Organization and oncologists who resigned in protest of management policies and behavior proceeded behind closed doors on Wednesday. The parents of the children with cancer continue to back the physicians, who are led by Prof. Michael Weintraub, and continue to back those who resigned. Some of the parents are still on a hunger strike at their protest tent in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park.
In a statement at the end of the first session, the parents group said that retired Supreme Court justice Elyakim Rubinstein “listened carefully to our arguments. Beyond that, we cannot give details, as he requested, to try to raise the chances of a successful mediation.”
The parents added that the jurist also asked them to stop their hunger strike, as a gesture for the mediation. They thanked him and said they appreciated his concern for their welfare, and that they would decide later. If the parents get the feeling that all sides to the dispute are “showing goodwill,” they will stop the hunger strike, the group said
 
The Health Ministry was represented at the mediation talks by director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov and Dr. Vered Ezra, the official in charge of the medical branch and hospitals.