Racism and discrimination will not hide the truth about Arab doctors in the healthcare system

The racist and incitement statements made by MK Moshe Saada of the Likud against Arab doctors in the country sparked outrage and condemnation from all healthcare workers across the country, while most of the political "center" camp chose to remain shamefully silent.

Saada claimed that Arab doctors are hired "under protection," and that there is a preference for hiring Arab doctors over Jews! He further added that Arab doctors are not eligible to speak because they do not serve in the IDF.

Among the most prominent who confronted him was MK Dr. Ahmed Tibi, a gynecologist by profession. Attached here are two video clips that Tibi posted on his social media pages.

Tibi said that MK Saada lied in the Knesset plenary and presented false data – either he did not understand what he read, or he did understand – and knowingly lied.

Regarding the admission process for Arab students to medical studies at Israeli universities, Tibi demanded that the "interview" stage, which is used to decide whether or not to accept the candidate, be canceled, and that the principle of admission be maintained based solely on matriculation and psychometric scores. He also demanded that accurate information and data be published regarding the number of Arab medical applicants, the number of those accepted – and that this be compared to the data for Jewish applicants.

As is known, about 12% of medical students in Israel are Arabs – less than their proportion in the population.

The reason for this is a policy of discrimination in admitting Arab students to medical studies at universities in Israel – discrimination that has existed since the establishment of the state, when in the past admission to studies was also conditional on approval from the General Security Service. Due to this discrimination, Arab students who are citizens of the state are forced to study medicine outside of Israel, including at universities of the Palestinian Authority.

All Arab doctors employed in the country have successfully passed the state certification exam to practice medicine – despite all the obstacles.

There is not a single university in the West Bank that belongs to or was established by the Hamas movement.

Al-Najah University, Al-Quds University, and the American University in Jenin are official universities, recognized in the State of Israel and their certificates are recognized. They are also among the best. The success rate of medical graduates from Al-Najah and Al-Quds Universities in the medical qualification exam in the State of Israel is 98% - the highest percentage of all graduates who studied at other universities.

The country's Arab doctors are an important part of the backbone of Israel's healthcare system - as are the Arab pharmacists, nurses, and brothers