Antwerp – A Belgian physician who refused to treat a Jewish woman
with a fractured rib suggested she visit Gaza to get rid of the pain.
The physician made the remark on Wednesday while manning a medical
hotline in Flanders, Belgium’s Flemish region, whose capital, Antwerp, has a
sizeable Orthodox Jewish population, the local Jewish monthly Joods Actueel
reported Thursday.
The woman, Bertha Klein, had her son, who is American, call the hotline
at 11 p.m.
“I’m not coming,” the doctor
reportedly told the son and hung up. When the son called again, the doctor
said: “Send her to Gaza for a few hours, then she’ll get rid of the pain.”
According to Joods Actueel, the doctor confirmed the exchange, saying he had an
“emotional reaction.”
Health ministry officials were looking into the incident, according to
the monthly’s online edition. According to Joods Actueel, the doctor knew the
patient was Jewish because of Klein’s son’s American accent.
The family called a friend, Samuel Markowitz, who is an alderman of the
Antwerp district council and a volunteer paramedic. He called the doctor to
confirm the exchange, and also recorded their conversation.
Hershy Taffel, Bertha Klein’s grandson, filed a complaint with police
for discrimination.
“It reminds me of what
happened in Europe 70 years ago,” Taffel told Joods Actueel. “I never thought
those days would once again be repeated.”
