In a move that sent shockwaves throughout the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center on Monday night for an “unspecified dental treatment,” according to an official announcement issued shortly thereafter by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
While the PMO promptly labeled this hospitalization as routine, the sudden and mysterious arrival of Netanyahu’s convoy at Hadassah Ein Kerem has raised a storm of questions about the true state of health of the nation’s 76-year-old leader, especially in light of Israel’s notorious practice of hiding medical news from its citizens, which is well-documented throughout the years.
Chastised for withholding information about cancer diagnosis
Last month, Netanyahu’s decision to hide from the public his health condition once more erupted into a controversy, as the nation’s top official took to social media to reveal that he underwent radiation therapy for prostate cancer while being hospitalized at Hadassah.
He admitted that the information about his illness was purposefully concealed from the public for several months to come. He defended this by stating that the Iranian regime would take the information and “use it for its disinformation campaign” regarding the recently ended war. However, opponents were quick to notice that Netanyahu’s announcement neglected to provide crucial information on when the initial diagnostics occurred, when the treatments started and finished.
To make matters worse, the health report accompanying the announcement was heavily criticized for being no more than PR material. The document featured no more than five vague bullet points on a sheet less than half-filled, lacked any hospital branding, did not say it is a medical document at all, and even neglected to give its year.
A history of inconsistent medical announcements
It is not the first time that there have been allegations against Netanyahu’s doctors regarding misleading the Israeli public. In July 2023, when the Prime Minister was taken to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, preliminary reports claimed that Netanyahu was merely being monitored in the hospital as a precaution due to “dehydration” from being in the heat in the Sea of Galilee.
However, it came to light a day later that Netanyahu had in fact been implanted with a heart monitor under his skin. A week later, Netanyahu’s doctors admitted to seeing clear abnormalities in an electrocardiogram (ECG) done on him during his first stay in the hospital—contradicting their previous announcements about the Prime Minister having “a completely normal heart.”
Netanyahu’s medical past, which involves pacemaker surgery, a life-threatening emergency hernia surgery, and the complete removal of his prostate, along with this most recent dental hospital visit, makes sure that his overall health status is highly scrutinized within Israel.
