Civil society organizations urge MKs to vote against force-feeding

29 July 2015

Say no to force-feeding prisoners on hunger strike

Vote against the law!

We – civil society and human rights organizations in Israel – urge members of the Israeli legislature, the Knesset, to vote against the force-feeding bill being promoted by the government. The sole objective of the bill is breaking the spirit and body of prisoners and administrative detainees who are protesting by non-violent means. In the process, it tramples underfoot the Patients’ Rights Act and human dignity.

The government of Israel has other options for addressing the demands put forward by hunger strikers – including demands to revoke administrative detention orders, lift bans on family visits, or significantly improve quality and accessibility of medical care. Instead, the government has chosen to respond by urging and inducing doctors to commit a grievous ethical offense.

Force-feeding hunger strikers is both morally and medico-ethically wrong. This bill, in patent defiance of international conventions and declarations, legalizes a practice that is considered a form of torture. It does not aim to save the lives of prisoners, but to crush their spirit. To date, not a single hunger striker has died in Israel as a result of a hunger strike, yet four have died of force-feeding related complications.

Do not lend your support to this draconian law. Protect prisoners and support the medical community in its refusal to obey it.

Signed by: Adalah, Amnesty International – Israel, Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights

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