Over 2,500 medical residents announced their resignation Oct. 7, following the failure of talks with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz to shorten the length of their shifts. The residents have been protesting for several days over their working conditions, arguing they can no longer provide quality health care.
A day earlier, Economy Minister Orna Barbivai said she would not extend the current authorization that allows residents in hospitals in the periphery areas to work for 26 consecutive hours, and that this model of shorter shiftswould be extended to the entire Israeli health system within five years. Evidently, her announcement did not satisfy the residents, who went ahead with the decision to resign. But on Oct. 11, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said, “There is no real problem. Everybody knows that we are about to pass a budget. This is nothing more than a performative protest. We’ve seen it all before.”