Government denies demanding ‘silence’ from hospital directors

The government denies a report that it “demanded silence” from the directors of hospitals in Israel as part of a secret deal.

The Prime Minister’s Office responds to a report in Israel Hayom that the government demanded senior hospital officials not speak to news outlets about their lack of preparedness to deal with an influx of COVID patients — in exchange for the government approving the hiring of hundreds more health care workers. Yesterday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced the approval of 2,000 new positions in hospitals nationwide.

The report is “false and unfounded,” the PMO says. “There was never any such demand of hospital directors, neither officially nor implied, neither written nor verbal.”

“Any attempt to impeach their professional integrity belittles the best of our doctors,” says the statement, “who are at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus day and night.”