The Jerusalem District Court rejected this week the appeal of Adel Miske – a general practitioner without specialization accused of committing sexual offenses against several complainants during neurological examinations – against the decision of the Deputy Director-General of the ministry of Health, Dr. Sefi Mendlovich, to suspend his license until further notice.
The disciplinary committee initially recommended limiting Adel Miske’s license to treating men only. However, last July, the Deputy Director-General decided to escalate and suspend Miske’s license temporarily for six months – the maximum period permitted by law. As stated, this week the court decided on the suspension of the license until further notice.
The Ministry of Health was represented in the proceedings by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office (Civil), while the verdict fully adopted the Ministry of Health‘s position and ruled that “the severity of the offenses attributed to the appellant, closely and intrinsically linked to his conduct as a doctor, and the severe damage to public trust in the medical system, all clearly tip the scales in favor of the public interest. The acts, as alleged, allegedly involve a severe breach of trust by patients, exploiting his status as a doctor and the therapeutic space, and constitute a severe violation of professional dignity.”
The Ministry of Health views any harm to patients, and particularly in the area of sexual offenses, with great severity, and adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards conduct that is not in keeping with professional dignity and harms public trust. The Ministry will continue to act to safeguard public health and trust in the system, monitor the implementation of the suspension by the doctor, and will not overlook any violation of disciplinary measures.