Netanyahu's collapse - does the public deserve to know the medical condition of politicians in the national and local arena?

Opinion column by attorney and architect Lior Detz, an expert in law and strategic communication

Today we were informed that Prime Minister Netanyahu collapsed at his home. According to reports published in a number of national media, Netanyahu fainted and fell to the floor and due to the fall, his head hit the floor hard. As a result, he was rushed and hospitalized at Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer. In the first hours there were rumors about his condition. Probably this time we will at least hope that the reports coming out of the government's mouthpiece are true and not spin. The fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu refuses to reveal the medical file only contributes to the lack of trust and the rumors - running around.

What do you think, should a politician who is running for a senior position such as prime minister or mayor and suffers from an illness that does not allow him to hold office and serve the public (such as Alzheimer's, other old age disease, mental illness or other illness) inform the public about his medical condition?

I think so!!!

The public's right to know is considered a fundamental right in a democratic society no less than the right to privacy.
The balance between the two values ​​requires that an elected official, who seeks the public's trust, report to the voters if he can really function and stand behind his promise to the public.

A public figure who seeks the public's trust gives up, in practice, the right to privacy. To the extent that he prefers privacy, don't deal with it.
Let's start from the end and say that in the State of Israel there is no law that requires public figures to disclose their health status, even one that could affect their ability to function or make decisions.

About a decade ago, several private bills were submitted, which tried to require the disclosure of the prime minister's health status, through the establishment of a neutral medical body, before which the information will be disclosed and which will decide what of it is relevant for publication.

The situation today is that members of the Knesset, ministers and other senior officials such as mayors, have to provide a report on their financial interests, but do not have to detail anything about their health status, even though it is possible that their health status may have a critical effect on their functioning.

It's an illogical situation, but until the legal situation changes, the public should demand that elected officials and everyone who seeks their trust disclose their health status.

After all, it would be unthinkable, for example, that a prime minister or mayor who is terminally ill or Alzheimer's would run for the desired position and be elected. In my opinion, if this happens, it is a fraud on the public.

Political history is littered with cases where leaders withheld information about their health from the public and the issue of age and health was part of the election campaign.
The best example was in the US presidential elections when Hillary Clinton ran for president there were rumors about her health condition. Even these days in the US there is a whole campaign going on about the health condition of US President Biden due to his extreme age.

Leaders hid their medical conditions

In the past, everyone remembers the fact that leaders hid their medical condition even though it affected their performance:
Levy Eshkol hid a heart disease, Golda Meir kept her cancer a secret and Ariel Sharon's stroke was defined as "mild". Yigal Alon, a senior minister in the government, was hospitalized in Tel Hashomer due to a "stomach upset", when in fact he had two heart attacks.

בRegarding the concealment of the information regarding the health condition of the former Prime Minister, Golda Meir: After her death it became clear that while she served as prime minister she contracted cancer. Meir would arrive at the hospital very early in the morning, be treated with radiation and go to her office, before the first patients would arrive at the clinic.

The public, who knew almost nothing about her illness, except for reports of a runny nose or shingles, marveled at the health of the elderly lady, who smoked chain cigarettes. Some claim that it was her health condition that made it difficult for her to conduct the Yom Kippur War and was one of the reasons for the failure.

The most prominent case concerned the state of health of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Much has been said about the clinical depression that afflicted Begin during the Lebanon War, a depression that affected his functioning and finally led to his retirement from political life in August 1983 and his seclusion at home.

The demand to publicly report on the health status of the leaders is back in the headlines Following the hospitalization of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in December 2005. The diagnosis then was "mild stroke" caused by a clot. Following that case, former MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) demanded that Sharon's doctors provide the public with a full and detailed report on his health condition. "It is impossible for the fate of the country to depend on a blood clot the size of a millimeter."

There were also rumors about Yitzhak Rabin, Chief of Staff during the Six Day War, that he fell ill with depression that he was not allowed to function and there were rumors about his drinking habits, something that years later became part of the political campaign led by the far right during the Oslo Accords and as part of his bid for the Prime Ministership for the second time.

The discussion surrounding the health status of public figures also exists at the municipal level, especially when it comes to a candidate after retirement age (age 67+).
We remember the struggle of Teddy Kolek, the mayor of Jerusalem, when he faced the young Olmert at an old age and lost.

According to experts, one of the reasons for his removal was his medical condition, although he did not publish his medical file and despite the denials of his advisers. But his age and condition are very evident in his public appearances. Also regarding Yaakov Turner, the mayor of Beer Sheva who also wanted to run at an old age after a long term, his medical condition as perceived by the voters as well as the rumors about Alzheimer's disease decided in the end and he was ousted by his young deputy Rubik Danilovitz.

It turns out that the public has the senses to understand the situation of the candidates (the wisdom of the masses). It is possible that if the candidates had revealed their medical file and proved to the public that these were rumors, their situation would have been different, but they chose to hide because they probably had something to hide.

Therefore, in the new era, especially in the era of social networks, prime ministers and politicians report almost any health problem, are accompanied by a close doctor and make sure to emphasize that they are in excellent shape, in order to control the media discourse and ward off rumors. Especially when it comes to an older politician.

Therefore, I recommend to all candidates who seek the public's trust, and not only those who are older, to act transparently and publish their medical file. Otherwise the public will think they have something to hide.
In any case, the public should demand the disclosure of information about the medical condition of the candidates, as part of a substantial disclosure that is required of all candidates, with an emphasis on diseases that may significantly affect their ability to function in the public office to which they aspire.