Dr. Amos Sabo, a surgical specialist and retired intensive care doctor at The Galilee Medical Center who also works for Maccabi Healthcare Services, praised his friends in the IDF for eliminating terrorists and expressed a desire to join the operations himself in a post on X/Twitter on Monday.
“Yesterday, soldiers from the battalion killed dozens of terrorists. I asked to participate in the eliminations as a doctor and as part of preventive medicine,” Sabo wrote.
This is not the first time Sabo has expressed controversial views on social media. However, this latest post has sparked complaints to the Ethics Bureau of the Israel Medical Association and to Maccabi.
Last year, Dr. Sabo protested against anti-government demonstrations while carrying an M-16 rifle. He was summoned to court after a protester complained that he had confronted demonstrators armed with the weapon. At the time, he wore a shirt bearing a picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the caption, “You are our prime minister.” He was eventually removed from the protests in Carmel, Haifa.
Sabo, a retired IDF major who was on leave from active reserve duty at the time, maintained that his conduct was legal. He said police officers who saw him carrying the rifle, after verifying his reserve orders, allowed him to carry the weapon strapped to his back.
During the hearing, attorney Gonen Ben Yitzhak cited an order prohibiting reserve soldiers from attending political protests armed with IDF weapons. Sabo responded, “I didn’t have the opportunity to store it that day. I also carry it to the movies and the mall while shopping. No one feels threatened. Their threat came from their deep hatred for the prime minister.”
In the current case, about 18 complaints have been filed against Sabo with Maccabi Health Services. When he requested the identities of the complainants, his request was denied. He brought the matter to court, which ruled against releasing the information.
Several complaints received regarding Sabo's post
Walla reported that the Israel Medical Association's Ethics Bureau has received several complaints regarding Sabo’s social media post.
The Geneva Declaration of the World Medical Association states: “As a member of the medical profession, I undertake, with reverence and respect, to dedicate my life to the service of humanity... I will maintain the utmost respect for human life.”
“The Ethics Bureau strongly condemns calls for doctors to kill in the name of medicine and stresses that a doctor’s role in any context is to save lives and treat patients,” the IDF said, adding that the bureau is handling the complaints.
An IDF spokesperson said the post was deleted. The doctor has been summoned for a command meeting with his division commander, after which a disciplinary response will be determined.
Maccabi Healthcare Services has yet to respond.