Veterinary Group Blasts Israel’s Rabies Policy as Scientifically and Morally Wrong

The Israeli Companion Animal Veterinary Association issued a sharp position paper Saturday, after an unusual jackal attack near the Sea of Galilee, accusing Israeli authorities of handling the rabies outbreak as if the country were still in the 1950s. The group said the state is abandoning both animals and the veterinarians on the front lines, and charged public agencies with systemic indifference and a refusal to adopt modern solutions.

The veterinarians said the Agriculture Ministry and municipal veterinarians are relying on reactive, “firefighting” responses instead of prevention. They rejected the widespread killing of stray dogs, arguing that extermination does not build immunity and does not stop the virus. In their words, “killing and taking lives do not create immunity and do not stop the virus.” They said Europe eliminated rabies through national programs combining oral vaccination dropped from the air with scientific monitoring, while Israel still relies on capture, harsh quarantine and mass culling.

The statement also attacked the Health Ministry, saying it is failing in its duty to protect preventive medicine in Israel and is “damaging the state’s human shield.” The group said veterinarians and assistants who are exposed daily to rabies face severe bureaucratic obstacles when trying to obtain booster shots and basic antibody tests, largely because of a lack of funding. “The Health Ministry apparently forgot that its job is to care for health,” the organization said, warning that when those at the front are unprotected, the public is left vulnerable.

As a solution, the association called for a full nationalization of the rabies vaccination system. It wants vaccinations to be free, without fees, licensing charges or conditions such as mandatory spaying or neutering, which it says reduce vaccination rates and create financial and administrative barriers. The group proposed that if the government supplies vaccines at no cost and removes payment hurdles, veterinarians will volunteer to conduct mass vaccination days in the highest-risk areas to help stop the outbreak.