Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
Encyclopedia
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (Hebrew: רופאים לזכויות אדם-ישראל), known in Israel as PHR-I, is a non-governmental, non-profit, humanitarian organization based in Jaffa
. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel was founded in 1988 with the goal of promoting "a more fair and inclusive society in which the right to health is applied equally for all." In addition, PHR-I views Israel as an occupier over Palestinian territory as a basis of human rights violations, and therefore, "oppose the occupation and endeavor to put an end to it." The principles of human rights
, medical ethics
and social justice
are at the core of the world view of the organization. These principles direct and instruct PHR-I's activities and efforts on both the individual and principle level. In September 2010, PHR-I was awarded the Right Livelihood Award
"for their indomitable spirit in working for the right to health for all people in Israel and Palestine".
, social justice
, and human rights
. Much of PHR-I's work is based on appeals and testimonies from persons whose rights may have been violated. Such claims may come from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the unrecognized Bedouin
villages in the Negev
, or from migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers living in Israel. PHR-I advocates on their behalf through different established authorities such as the Israeli Prison Service, Kupat Holim israel Health Services, the Israeli Defense Forces, the Ministry of Health, and others and appeals to the court system when necessary. Additionally, PHR-I publishes reports on various human rights concerns, and operates two clinics; one for persons of no civil status located in Jaffa
, Israel, and a mobile clinic operating 3-5 times per months in a number of towns in the West Bank
.
PHR-Israel’s diverse staff and volunteer base are composed of Jewish and Arab
medical professionals and human rights activists who are committed to changing Israeli government policies that allegedly restrict the right to health. According to their website, PHR-Israel has more than 1500 members, over half of whom are health workers.
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel cooperates with other human rights and medical NGOs in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, and abroad. PHR-I is also in partnership with the Legal Clinics of the Tel Aviv University
. Cooperation is based on universal human rights principles.
and the Gaza Strip
. The department researches and publishes information regarding prevention of medical care from the Gazan population, limitations on the right to move and reside freely in the West Bank, Shin Bet interrogation of patients at Erez Crossing
, and other cases. The OPT department takes individual cases to the District Coordination Office, the State of Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, in order to provide medical passes for Palestinians to enter Israel for treatment. The OPT department operates the Mobile Clinic in the West Bank.
, children who are not recognized as residents, victims of human trafficking
, Palestinians, persons deprived of citizenship through the Law of Citizenship and Entrance to Israel, and even returning residents. The department handles personal claims of persons without civil status and aids them in achieving their rights through the different bodies of the State of Israel. The migrants department advocates for a reformation of Israel's immigration policies, and in particular acts to promote a social residency status which will differentiate between the right to health
and civil status, and will guarantee access to decent medical care for all, regardless of civil class or status. Additionally, the migrants department promotes reforming the private medical insurance sector, and transferring immigrants' medical insurance policies to the public system. The department advocates for applying universal health care to all children living in Israel, for preventing the deportation
of immigrants who suffer from complex or life-threatening illnesses, and advocates against the proposed Anti-Infiltration Law (which may result in up to 7 years detention for Asylum Seekers). The department operates the Open Clinic.
of the Israel prison system, as it believes inmate care should not be handled by a for-profit company.
The ROI department manages a case-specific project which handles violations of the right to health within the unrecognized Bedouin
villages in the Negev
. These villages are not recognized by the Israeli government. The project promotes the recognition of the villages as legitimate towns, which will guarantee their residents the right of access to medical services, infrastructure, development and public health maintenance. The project follows health services operating within the unrecognized villages, and appeals to relevant authorities or to the Israeli Supreme Court in order to provide residents of the villages with non-discriminatory health care and full civil rights.
i and Palestinian
health professionals and active members of Palestinian civil society for weekly cooperative medical work in rural Palestinian villages. Within this setting, Israeli doctors provide immediate primary care and when necessary, referrals for follow up care, while Palestinian and Israeli Pharmacist
s dispense basic medications to patients.
From the very beginning, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, the largest non-governmental primary healthcare provider in the West Bank, has been the main partner of PHR-Israel in these activities. Over the years, PHR-Israel has built partnerships with other local non-governmental, independent organisations. Through consistent collaborative work, the mobile clinic aims to serve as a gesture of trust and solidarity with Palestinian patients and medical professionals, help to foster greater recognition for human rights values among the Israeli medical community, while sensitizing the Israeli public and international community to the need for Israeli policy change vis-à-vis the occupied Palestinian territory.
. The clinic provides community healthcare to immigrants and persons lacking civil status living in Israel. The Open Clinic was founded in 1998 as an initiative of volunteer physicians, and due to the limitations in access to healthcare imposed on persons with no civil status. The clinic does not claim to solve all medical problems of the immigrant community, or to replace the Ministry of Health, but acts to point out the alleged faults in Israel's policy towards immigrants, and to show solidarity with the immigrant and refugee community. The Open Clinic is the only clinic of its kind in Israel providing primary medical care and specialized medicine, as well as hospital referrals and medical follow-up to persons with no civil status, free of charge or for a minimal fee. The clinic team, including reception staff as well as medical professionals, is made up solely of volunteers. While in the early years of the clinic most patients were migrant workers, today the patient population includes mostly refugees and asylum seekers. The clinic cares for over 6,000 patients annually.
and that they "will refuse to comply with it."
said that it has severed ties with PHR-I.
The president of the World Medical Association
, Dr. Yoram Blachar, said that PHR-I "are a radical political group disguised as a medical organization," because of PHR-I's giving a first aid
course to violent protestors in Bili'in.
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel was founded in 1988 with the goal of promoting "a more fair and inclusive society in which the right to health is applied equally for all." In addition, PHR-I views Israel as an occupier over Palestinian territory as a basis of human rights violations, and therefore, "oppose the occupation and endeavor to put an end to it." The principles of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, medical ethics
Medical ethics
Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.-History:Historically,...
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
are at the core of the world view of the organization. These principles direct and instruct PHR-I's activities and efforts on both the individual and principle level. In September 2010, PHR-I was awarded the Right Livelihood Award
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
"for their indomitable spirit in working for the right to health for all people in Israel and Palestine".
Principles of Action
PHR-I's working guidelines are based on the concepts of medical ethicsMedical ethics
Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.-History:Historically,...
, social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. Much of PHR-I's work is based on appeals and testimonies from persons whose rights may have been violated. Such claims may come from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the unrecognized Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
villages in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
, or from migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers living in Israel. PHR-I advocates on their behalf through different established authorities such as the Israeli Prison Service, Kupat Holim israel Health Services, the Israeli Defense Forces, the Ministry of Health, and others and appeals to the court system when necessary. Additionally, PHR-I publishes reports on various human rights concerns, and operates two clinics; one for persons of no civil status located in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, Israel, and a mobile clinic operating 3-5 times per months in a number of towns in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
PHR-Israel’s diverse staff and volunteer base are composed of Jewish and Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
medical professionals and human rights activists who are committed to changing Israeli government policies that allegedly restrict the right to health. According to their website, PHR-Israel has more than 1500 members, over half of whom are health workers.
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel cooperates with other human rights and medical NGOs in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, and abroad. PHR-I is also in partnership with the Legal Clinics of the Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
. Cooperation is based on universal human rights principles.
Departments
PHR is composed of four departments which conduct research and manage projects concerning patient and human rights.Occupied Palestinian Territories Department
The OPT department conducts research on the violations of the right to health in the West BankWest Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. The department researches and publishes information regarding prevention of medical care from the Gazan population, limitations on the right to move and reside freely in the West Bank, Shin Bet interrogation of patients at Erez Crossing
Erez Crossing
The Erez Crossing is a pedestrian/cargo terminal on the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier. It is located in the northern end of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Israel.It is part of a complex formerly including the Erez Industrial Park....
, and other cases. The OPT department takes individual cases to the District Coordination Office, the State of Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, in order to provide medical passes for Palestinians to enter Israel for treatment. The OPT department operates the Mobile Clinic in the West Bank.
Migrants Department
The migrants and undocumented people department strives to promote the right to health of immigrants and persons of no civil status living in Israel. This includes refugees and asylum seekers, migrant workers carrying or lacking a work permitWork permit
Work permit is a generic term for a legal authorization which allows a person to take employment.It is most often used in reference to instances where a person is given permission to work in a country where one does not hold citizenship, but is also used in reference to minors, who in some...
, children who are not recognized as residents, victims of human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, Palestinians, persons deprived of citizenship through the Law of Citizenship and Entrance to Israel, and even returning residents. The department handles personal claims of persons without civil status and aids them in achieving their rights through the different bodies of the State of Israel. The migrants department advocates for a reformation of Israel's immigration policies, and in particular acts to promote a social residency status which will differentiate between the right to health
Right to health
The right to health is the economic, social and cultural right to the highest attainable standard of health. It is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.- Definition :...
and civil status, and will guarantee access to decent medical care for all, regardless of civil class or status. Additionally, the migrants department promotes reforming the private medical insurance sector, and transferring immigrants' medical insurance policies to the public system. The department advocates for applying universal health care to all children living in Israel, for preventing the deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
of immigrants who suffer from complex or life-threatening illnesses, and advocates against the proposed Anti-Infiltration Law (which may result in up to 7 years detention for Asylum Seekers). The department operates the Open Clinic.
Prisoners Department
The Prisoners department caters to the inmate population in Israel. PHR-I receives and handles claims from detainees, criminal prisoners, or security prisoners who may have had their right to health violated while in jails, interrogation centers, or prisons. The prisoners department conducts research and publishes reports on prison health services, denial of medical treatment to inmates, torturing of inmates and physicians' collaboration with torture. As a left-wing organization, the department opposes the privatizationPrivatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of the Israel prison system, as it believes inmate care should not be handled by a for-profit company.
Residents of Israel Department
The main focus of the Residents of Israel department is the promotion of equality in availability and standards of health care in Israel. The department aims to identify concerns with the implementation of Israel's public health insurance law, and acts to create solutions to these problems. Issues addressed by this department include:- A campaign to cancel co-pay fees on medical services and medications included in the official list of provided medical services in Israel.
- A campaign to diminish gaps in health and in the availability of health care between different groups within Israeli society; Jews and Arabs, urban and rural residents, upper and lower classes.
- A campaign to repeal amendments to the Israeli public health insurance law which may harm the public health system. Such amendments are often included in the Israeli Law of Arrangements.
The ROI department manages a case-specific project which handles violations of the right to health within the unrecognized Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
villages in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
. These villages are not recognized by the Israeli government. The project promotes the recognition of the villages as legitimate towns, which will guarantee their residents the right of access to medical services, infrastructure, development and public health maintenance. The project follows health services operating within the unrecognized villages, and appeals to relevant authorities or to the Israeli Supreme Court in order to provide residents of the villages with non-discriminatory health care and full civil rights.
The Mobile Clinic
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has operated the Mobile Clinic Project since its establishment in 1988, with the goal of addressing ongoing health issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Mobile Clinic brings together IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i and Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
health professionals and active members of Palestinian civil society for weekly cooperative medical work in rural Palestinian villages. Within this setting, Israeli doctors provide immediate primary care and when necessary, referrals for follow up care, while Palestinian and Israeli Pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
s dispense basic medications to patients.
From the very beginning, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, the largest non-governmental primary healthcare provider in the West Bank, has been the main partner of PHR-Israel in these activities. Over the years, PHR-Israel has built partnerships with other local non-governmental, independent organisations. Through consistent collaborative work, the mobile clinic aims to serve as a gesture of trust and solidarity with Palestinian patients and medical professionals, help to foster greater recognition for human rights values among the Israeli medical community, while sensitizing the Israeli public and international community to the need for Israeli policy change vis-à-vis the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Open Clinic
The Open Clinic is an established medical clinic located within PHR's headquarters in JaffaJaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. The clinic provides community healthcare to immigrants and persons lacking civil status living in Israel. The Open Clinic was founded in 1998 as an initiative of volunteer physicians, and due to the limitations in access to healthcare imposed on persons with no civil status. The clinic does not claim to solve all medical problems of the immigrant community, or to replace the Ministry of Health, but acts to point out the alleged faults in Israel's policy towards immigrants, and to show solidarity with the immigrant and refugee community. The Open Clinic is the only clinic of its kind in Israel providing primary medical care and specialized medicine, as well as hospital referrals and medical follow-up to persons with no civil status, free of charge or for a minimal fee. The clinic team, including reception staff as well as medical professionals, is made up solely of volunteers. While in the early years of the clinic most patients were migrant workers, today the patient population includes mostly refugees and asylum seekers. The clinic cares for over 6,000 patients annually.
Position on Israeli anti-boycott law
PHR-I, in a statement, said that they strongly oppose the Israel boycott lawLaw for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott
Law for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott , also commonly known as the Boycott law, is an Israeli Anti-boycott law that was approved in the Knesset on 11 July 2011...
and that they "will refuse to comply with it."
Criticism
The Israel Medical AssociationIsrael Medical Association
Israel Medical Association , is a professional association of doctors in Israel. It traces its origins to The Hebrew Medicinal Society for Jaffa and the Jaffa District, founded in 1912, which later became The Hebrew Medical Association in the Land of Israel ...
said that it has severed ties with PHR-I.
The president of the World Medical Association
World Medical Association
The World Medical Association is an international and independent confederation of free professional Medical Associations, therefore representing physicians worldwide...
, Dr. Yoram Blachar, said that PHR-I "are a radical political group disguised as a medical organization," because of PHR-I's giving a first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
course to violent protestors in Bili'in.