Adalah Secures Permission for Foreign Doctors Married to Arab Citizens of Israel to Begin their Apprenticeships

Last week, the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General’s Office issued an order permitting three foreign physicians, married to Arab citizens of Israel, to begin their one-year stage (medical apprenticeships) necessary to qualify as doctors under Israeli law.  The order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Adalah Staff Attorney, Ms. Orna Kohn, on behalf of the three doctors, against the Ministry of Health (MOH). 

The three foreign doctors, married to Arab citizens of Israel, applied for permanent residency status, and have been waiting for years for the state to grant it to them.  Each of the doctors has passed their conversion exams, which allow individuals trained outside of Israel, to practice medicine in Israel.  However, the MOH prevented the doctors from beginning their one-year stage, due to a policy that prohibits temporary residents from practicing medicine in Israel.  In order to gain permanent-resident status, the doctors must wait for a decision from the Ministry of the Interior, which sometimes takes more than seven years.  Adalah claimed that this policy is discriminatory, and violates the principle of equality and freedom of occupation.

The MOH and Attorney General’s order allowing the doctors to begin their stage while awaiting permanent residency status, is a precedent.  Such a decision affects tens of foreign doctors married to Arab citizens across the country.