There was a big announcement today from the City of Bet Shemesh:

This seems kind of weird to me

I was in a hospital this morning and some young men and women were walking around handing this out:

I am not sure what the big issue with Minister of Health Nitzan Horowitz is regarding the hospitals and chametz this coming Pesach. Ministers and MKs on the right, in the coalition as well, are speaking out angrily about Horowitz's position regarding the allowing of chametz into the hospitals, or more precisely, the stopping of checking bags to prevent chametz from being brought in.

As per the Supreme Court decision last year that would require hospitals to allow patients or visitors to bring chametz in, the hospitals are technically no longer to have their guards stop people form bringing in chametz. It became known that Hadassah Hospital had "asked its employees" and patients and visitors to agree willingly to not bring chametz in over Pesach.

Someone died of Corona, and the family had the chutzpa to mark on her tombstone that she was murdered by Beilinson Hospital in the Corona ward. Unless someone held a pillow over her face, this is a tremendous chutzpa.

Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Yitzchak Yosef has added his voice to the discussion and piskei halacha regarding entering a hospital, or other public building, on Shabbos at this time when temperature will be taken either automatically or via the guard at the door.

According to the report on Srugim, Rav Yitzchak Yosef has paskened that people need not worry and can go into a hospital that has a system of thermal cameras checking temperatures automatically of everyone who walks in as a safeguard for public health.

Rav Yosef differentiates between automatic systems and someone manually checking. His allowance is ONLY for automatic systems checking people's temperature. If a non-Jew is at the door checking temperatures of people entering, one could enter if there is a need for a sick person even with no life-threatening danger involved, such as to visit the sick or a sick person who needs to enter.

Rav Yosef compares this to the allowance to walk in areas with security cameras taking video surveillance. The person walking has the status of "pski reisha dlo neecha lei" - an act is going to happen because of him but has absolutely no interest in it and gets no direct benefit from it. So the video cameras are allowed when happening automatically, and so is the automatic thermometer taking temperatures.

The one thing missing from the article is regarding the situation of a Jewish guard at the door taking temperatures manually. The other rabbonim I mentioned in the post last week did discuss such situations as well, but Rav Yitzchak Yosef does not. Perhaps it is not relevant as all hospitals use gentiles? I don't know, but it seems to be an important point that is missing.

I had to be in the hospital today for a short visit. When walking in, as is done everywhere, the guard scanned my forehead with a thermometer gun to see if I had a temperature.

Thank God I did not have a temperature, and I am healthy.

But I was wondering - if I had a temperature, chas vshalom, would they not let me in? Is a hospital not for sick people? Where would the hospital send me if I had had a temperature? Are only healthy people allowed into hospitals nowadays?

Just wondering.

This is interesting. Kikar is reporting that the Eida Hachareidis is protesting the plan of Defense Minister Naftali Bennett to take over some hotels and convert them into holding centers for people with light cases of CoronaVirus and cases of quarantine due to exposure. the people sent to stay in these hotels will, presumably, have to stay a few weeks while they recuperate and then be released.

Some of the people placed in these hotels are Haredi, and according to the complaint, the hotels have not been prepared in an appropriate way for frum people, especially with Pesach coming.

The Eida is requesting, form anybody who is in a position to help, that separate hotels should be prepared for frum people requiring it. These hotels will be prepared in a way appropriate for them, with mehadrin standards of kashrut, especially for Pesach during which people adhere to extremely strict standards. Additionally, the atmosphere is a problem and it should be ensured that the atmosphere be appropriate, especially since the Eida has no oversight over these places.

They conclude their letter saying that they will only tell, instruct, people to go to these hotels if the demands are met and these arrangements made.

I actually think that last part is the kicker. They want the business or supervising these Mehadrin Hotel Coronas, and that is what they are angling to get.

Whether or not that is correct, the request itself is interesting, though not unusual. The Eida, and most of the Haredi community, has made their lives all about self-isolation from the broader community. They don't want that to change. The request they are making fits right in with that.

That being said, instructing people to not go to such hospitals if the demands/requests are not met, is problematic. The country is dealing with a serious situation. You can make a request, but you are going to prevent people form getting treatment if the request is not agreed to? You are demanding the State put out more resources for this and are going to gamble with pikuach nefesh to force their hand? Regarding kashrut I am sure the State will agree to provide mehadrin kashrut - they do everywhere else this becomes an issue. Arranging separate centers is a much bigger deal.

This is insane. China built two 1000-bed hospitals in Wuhan in less than 2 weeks to deal with the Corona Virus..






In Israel it takes years, even decades, to build a hospital.

Maybe we should just order a hospital on Ali Express, though if we did it would probably take Israel Post years to deliver it.

All the local news media sites have announced what is very big news for Bet Shemesh.

After years of working on various solutions to bring some form of a hospital to Bet Shemesh, we finally have success!

Mayor of Bet Shemesh Dr Aliza Bloch announced yesterday that an agreement has been signed with Hadassah Medical Center to build an expanded medical center in Bet Shemesh. Construction is due to begin within 18 months.

The expanded medical center will includes clinic for specialists, outpatient, dialysis, imaging, operating rooms and emergency care. It does not say it on the Shemesh report, but I saw elsewhere (dont remember where) that this is just the first stage of the plan and the second stage includes a birthing center.

This is big news for Bet Shemesh!

Back in October I posted an announcement of the planning of a new bus line from Bet Shemesh to the hospitals in Jerusalem, and from the hospitals to Bet Shemesh.

Since then no information has been released. People did not know when the new line would start, which bus company would operate it, the schedule, route or prices.

Until today. Today the announcement was made with details of the new bus line. The new line will be operated by Superbus and will be bus #630.

The Shemeshphone site has the details, which will be, but are not yet, available on the Superbus site, taken from the Ministry of Transportation site.

The new bus line will start running this coming Tuesday.

From the Shemeshphone site:

Here is the list of stops:RBS-gimel Zecharia Hanavi/Neria Hanavi;
RBS-alef Nahal Tze’elim/NahalHever;
Hakishon/Ayalon;
Nahar Hayarkon/Yeshayah Hanavi;
Nahar Hayarkon/Nahal Luz;
Nahar Hayarkon/Harav Greinman;
Road 3855 [the “backroad”/Hayarkon;
Zanoah quarry/Road 3855;
Harav Herzog/Rabbi Yossi Ben Kisma;
Harav Herzog/Levi Eshkol;
Ma’apilei Egoz/Harav Herzog;
Rashi/Hazon Ish;
Rabin/Hatavor;
Rabin/Gilad;
Hagilad/Sinai;
Hafetz Haim/Ben Ish Hai;
Yosef Karo/Ben Ish Hai;
Road 3855/Rabbi Yosef Karo;
Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Centre;
Swedish Village/Szold;
Kiryat Hayovel “Monster”/Hantke;
Shaare Zedek Medical Centre;
Givat Mordechai/Bayt; Government offices
Rabin/Netanel Lorch;
Binyenei Ha’uma/Hanasi Hashishi.
The journey from the first stop in RBS-Gimel to Hadassah is scheduled to
take one hour and 18 minutes; RBS-Gimel to Shaarei Zedek one hour and 31 minutes.
Leaving from Beit Shemesh:06:40, 08:10, 09:40, 11:10, 12:40, 14:10, 15:40, 17:10, 18:40, 20:10
No buses on Fridays or Saturday evenings.
Please note: The bus will not stop at the main entrance to the Hadassah Hospital, the stop is next to the traffic circle on the road going up to Ora Junction and at Shaare Zedek it stops on the road outside.

 

way to go!

MK Omer Yankelovitch (Kachol Lavan) has proposed a law that would put an end to the exorbitant parking fees collected in hospital parking lots.

Yankelovitch is proposing that the Ministers of Health and of Transportation should, together I guess, set the maximum limit that hospitals are allowed to charge for parking. The Ministry of Health has previously determined that hospitals should charge no more than 20nis per day for parking, yet the hospitals ignore the unenforced directives and charge exorbitant prices. Her proposal is that parking fees should be limited to 15nis per hour and 40nis per day.

As the occasional consumer of hospital parking, thankfully not often, I concur that they charge ridiculously high parking fees, and are basically taking advantage of a captive, and often desperate, public that has no other choice.. 
source: Haredim10

Yesterday a new party was formed. Benny Gantz is the star there. He made a dramatic announcement about the health system.  He said that he commits to opening two new hospitals, one in the North and one in the South... if I were Gantz I would fire his adviser. Go tell Gantz that the Health Ministry is in the middle of planning the construction of two new hospitals, one in the South in Beer Sheva that is already going through the process of getting the permits from the construction planning authority and the second in Kiryat Ata up North. What is he saying new? He should say "Litzman is building two new hospitals and i will support him". I'll be very happy if he supports this..

  -- Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman

A group called "The Secular Forum" along with a group called "The Secular Lobby" led by MKs Tamar Zandberg, Ksenia Svetlova, Mossi Raz and Michal Rozin, all MKs from Meretz except for Zandberg who is from the Zionist Union (Labor), have petitioned the Supreme Court against the rule prohibiting anyone from bringing chametz onto the grounds of hospitals during Pesach.

The court has given the government until March 25th, 2018 to respond to the petition and to explain why such a law is necessary or justified. The court gave this date, a week before pesach, so that a decision can be arrived at before pesach of this year.

The claim is that the security guards of hospitals are meant to be checking for issues of security, such as weapons and dangerous people, and their jobs are not to go through people's belongings and look for chametz, and it makes it seem as if Israel is a halachic state, which it is not. And, this is taking advantage of sick people who do not really choose to be there but go to the hospital because they have to, not because they want to.
source: Haredim10

In the past I seem to recall the complaint about chametz not being allowed in coming mostly from the Arab sector. Arab doctors and nurses, Arab patients and Arab visitors, who are not connected to the mitzva and obligation of avoiding chametz, still are forced to. Clearly some secular Jews are upset about this as well.

Personally the issue does not bother me - and not because I dont bring in chametz anyway during Pesach. I mean, it does not bother me if someone brings chametz into the hospital. As long as they do not bring their private food into the hospital kosher for pesach cafeteria, why should I care if someone, or a visitor, eats chametz in his or her own hospital room? The chametz wont get into my food and I don't own it, so I dont see the problem. It is more troubling when it is a Jew who is violating the rules of Pesach, but it is a free world and I cannot control them and stop them from eating chametz. And them bringing chametz into the hospital does not contaminate my food or affect my observance, so I really don't see the problem.

That being said, the State's response should be relatively simple. We live in a Jewish state and avoiding chametz on Pesach is a major issue and a symbol of Jewish life. After spending much effort and money to clean the hospital and kasher it for Pesach, along with the symbolism of removing chametz for Pesach, it makes sense to ban chametz, even at the expense of some people being made uncomfortable about it, in State institutions.

This seems to me to be similar to the argument about public transportation on Shabbos, and the allowance of stores to operate on Shabbos. The next step would be to fight against the law banning the sale of chametz during Pesach. If any of these laws fall, the rest might follow quickly, as they all seem to me to be similar, and one can be used as a precedent for the others.

I would agree to the complaint that it is not the job of security guards at the entrance to hospitals to check people's pockets and bags for chametz. The security guards should be dealing with security issues and only security issues. The hospitals or State should find other ways to enforce this law, if it will be left in place.

The other day it was revealed that the Rabbanut had recommended there be a designated area in hospitals in which people could eat chametz on Pesach. This area would be isolated from other parts of the hospital to ensure that chametz stays there and does not find its way to other parts of the hospital.

The reason for this is because in the past people have complained about not being allowed to eat chametz in the hospitals, whether it is patients or their guests. In particular, the non-Jewish minority is upset about being made to eat Pesach food and restricted from eating normal food that they are allowed to eat.

Despite the Rabbanut's recommendation, the Health Ministry said no.

According to Walla News, the rav of the Health Ministry has explained why the Rabbanut's proposal has been rejected. According to Rav Pinchas Frenkel it is not out of racism but they invest a lot of money in kashering the country's hospitals for Pesach and it is public property and they cannot satisfy the minority in this case. While other foods might not be so obvious and possible to control, chametz "stands out".

I hope they find a solution. If the Rabbanut says that from their perspective it can be done, they should work hard to find the way to do it. It really is not reasonable to force all those people to "keep Pesach" when it is not their holiday. I don't feel quite as bad about Jews who want to eat chametz on Pesach being forced to - I don't think they should be forced to avoid eating chametz (it should be their choice), but the [Jewish] State need not aid them in their quest for chametz. They can eat their chametz on their own. Minorities, however, who don't have the Pesach holiday or its restrictions, should not be forced unnecessarily to keep the laws of Pesach.

Some politicians say what they plan to do and then actually go and do it. And that is why those politicians are often the most admired and well-liked politicians in the system.

Just over a month ago Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman announced that he is working to get Coffix into hospitals, in order to bring down the ridiculous prices charged by food establishments already located on hospital premises.

While it seems he has not yet got Coffix into the hospital malls, he has just inaugurated the first set of cheap food machines in a hospital, starting with Ichilov Hospital.



From the looks of it, you can get soft drinks, water, juice, hot drinks and a variety of snacks for 5nis each,

Great start Minister Litzman! Hopefully this program will expand to more hospitals and to a greater variety of food options. This will be a great boon for people in hospitals, sick and visitor alike, and especially to those who have to spend a lot of time in the hospital.

When you go into most hospitals now, in Israel, you'll see that they pretty much all have shopping malls in the complex,. Usually you are made to go through the mall on your way in and out of the hospital. Kind of like the gift shop at the end of the museum tour - to leave you have to walk through the gift shop.

Often the prices in these malls are inflated. They also benefit from having a captive audience; The patients who might be able to walk around but cannot leave, along with the bored visitors who might be walking around while they spend too much time visiting their sick loved ones.

The news reported yesterday that Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman is working to get the Coffix chain of low-priced coffee shops to open their shops in hospital malls.

I am not sure why this needs the intervention of the Minister of Health, rather than simply being a business decision (of Coffix weighing the potential volume of business versus the high rental and other overhead expenses, but if he can get them into the hospital malls it will offer big savings to the people wandering the halls of the hospitals all day long...