Fear of Arrest: Injured Haredi Patients Refuse Medical Treatment

Photo: Noam Revkin Fenton, Flash 90 Fear of Arrest: Injured Haredi Patients Refuse Medical Treatment C14 Desk, 7 minutes ago 1 0

During the program “Tzav Arrest” on Kol Chai, a troubling phenomenon was exposed of injured people refusing medical treatment or evacuation out of fear of arrest. Yanki Deutsch, a volunteer with the Hatzalah organization, described cases in which that fear delayed treatment in situations that could have ended in irreversible harm and even death. The issue was raised during the program by host Gudi Silman, who expressed deep concern about the situation.

Haredi protests, archive | Photo: Flash 90 Yanki Deutsch, a volunteer with Hatzalah and an emergency medic, revealed today, Thursday, two cases he encountered personally. In the first case in Bnei Brak, medical teams were called to treat a person in need of assistance, but the injured man refused to open the door. “We could not reach the patient, who was locked inside the house,” Deutsch said, explaining that fear of the police arriving together with rescue forces prevented the receipt of essential medical treatment. Another case occurred during a demonstration, when a yeshiva student who was injured and was suffering significant bleeding in his hand avoided receiving medical treatment and fled the scene. “He was afraid that if medics arrived, police would arrive too, and in the end he would be arrested,” Deutsch said, emphasizing that this was bleeding that could have become life-threatening if it had not been treated in time.

Haredi protests, archive | Photo: Flash 90 Deutsch described the situation as “a blatant absurdity,” and clarified that in medical cases every minute is critical and can make the difference between recovery, irreversible harm, and death. At the end of the interview, Deutsch called for a solution that would allow people to receive medical treatment without fear, and expressed hope for calmer and quieter days.