Ynet News, Raanan Ben-Zur, Israel News, Jul 22, 2012
Related stories:
- Protesters: Silman died a political death
- Social protester who set himself on fire dies
- Man threatens to set himself on fire
The man, 45, was rushed to the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in serious condition. Medical sources said he was suffering from burns over more than 80% of his body.
According
to available details, people who were standing near the man were able to
extinguish the flames.
 |
| The victim (Photo: Amnon Sadeh, News 24) |
An Magen
David Adom spokesman said that, "We received a call about a man who set
himself on fire at around 11:55 am. Paramedics scrambled to the scene found a
man, lying on the ground, with apparent burns over 80% of his body. He was
treated on site and then rushed to hospital."
Medical
sources said that the man was in a drug-induced coma and on respiratory
support.
Dr. Yossi
Hayek, of the Shiba Burn Unit, which is considered the most advance burn
treatments center in Israel, added that the man's medical history made his
condition even more precarious.
Asked how
his team was handling the difficult cases of the recent weeks, he said:
"First, we hope that this 'trend' comes to a rapid end because no good can
come of it.
"These
cases are very difficult. Right now, they're in the news but for us – it's a
sad daily reality."
'Don't
follow acts of desperation'
David Gilboa
of the Disabled IDF Veterans' Association told that that his organization is
familiar with the man's plight: "The circumstances that brought him to
execute this act of desperation are financial. He has serious financial
hardships.
"The
bodies that are supposed to support him, i.e. the Defense Ministry and National
Insurance Institute failed. This is exactly what we have been protesting – the
disregard and the abhorrent treatment of disabled IDF veterans, people who have
given life and limb for this country.
"I'm
afraid over 50,000 IDF veterans share his frustration. But I urge all of them –
do not follow this desperate act. Nothing is worth your life."
On Friday,
Moshe Silman, the protestor who set himself on fire during a Tel Aviv social
justice rally, died of his injuries. Silman, 57, suffered third-degree burns
over 95% of his body. He was hospitalized at the Sheba
Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, which houses Israel's most advanced burn unit,
where doctors fought for six days to save his life.
A statement
by the Silman family issued after his death urged others against mimicking the
act: "Human lives are sacred to the family and we urge those who face
similar plights not to follow Moshe's path.
"What
he did was grim and the family does not condone it – he was expressing his own
unmet pain. We urge the government to consider this horrifying case and do
everything within its power to help Israelis who are in need of (financial)
assistance."
Shahar Chai
and Carmit Reuven contributed to this report
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