Prominent physician voiced opposition to judicial reform while premier was under his medical care, doesn’t acknowledge ethical implications of doing so.
By World Israel News Staff
A cardiologist who treated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his hospitalization last week slammed the premier in a Facebook post, implying that his recent heart issues are a result of his internal conflict and an alleged guilty conscience stemming from judicial reform.
Professor Amit Segev, head of the cardiology department at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, wrote on Sunday evening that shortly after Netanyahu was fitted with a Holger cardiac monitoring device, he voiced his concerns about judicial reform to the prime minister.
“I will tell you a secret, I had the opportunity to speak face-to-face with Mr. Netanyahu,” Segev wrote.
“I conveyed to him the feeling of pain experienced by a respectable and important part of the public,” the post continued, referencing the left-wing’s frustration with ongoing judicial reform legislation.
“I had the feeling that what I said touched his heart, but his speech on Thursday evening [in which Netanyahu said the reform would move forward] caused me great disappointment.”
Later in the post, Segev harshly criticized the premier, saying he was baffled that Netanyahu plans to advance the reform, despite left-wing objections.
“Netanyahu continues on his rampage, something I can’t understand,” he wrote, adding his opinion that when the prime minister “is alone with himself in bed, just before falling asleep, his heart is betraying him!”
Segev’s post seems to insinuate that Netanyahu’s recent cardiological issues are the result of a guilty conscience associated with the judicial reform.
The doctor added that the reforms pose a threat “unlike anything else” in the history of Israel.
“No, we are not hysterical,” he wrote, “there is a clear battle between democracy and liberalism and a dictatorship, a state and a monarchy.”
Segev expressed support for reservists refusing to volunteer or attend training sessions and pledged that should the reforms advance, doctors will “symbolically shut down the health care system and the heads of the economy, and the big companies will also join in.”
Early Sunday morning, Netanyahu underwent surgery to install a pacemaker. It’s unclear if Segev was involved in that procedure.
Segev did not express concern about the ethical implications of a professional vocally expressing his disapproval of government policy during treatment or of publicizing his medical opinion.