The Israeli Medical Association in the 1950s and 2000s

Abstract

The article analyzes the IMA’s role in developing the health field in Israel, and focuses on the changes in the association’s attitudes and interests in the 1950s and 2000s. Since the 1950s, the IMA has acquired significant power and prestige within the medical community and in its relationship with medical faculties and Ministry of Health. This process should not be seen as the natural development of a professional group linked primarily to scientific achievements and institutionalization, instead, the consolidation of the IMA’s status should be attributed to historical developments in the health field and, more broadly, to changes in political, social and economic power relations. Central to these processes is the hegemonic transformation caused by the neo-liberal worldview. Following this claim we show that in the profession-class dyad of IMA activity, class has emerged as the key variable. We contend that the class perspective, despite its theoretical limitations in certain cases, is a profitable explanation in the IMA case. It offers a deep understanding of the motivations and modus operandi of the IMA in light of the major changes that Israeli society, politics, the health system’s structure, and the IMA’s status have undergone.