Limmud Seattle 2019

This presentation explores the ways in which Jewish values affect medical policy decisions in Israel’s universal, public healthcare system. This session uses an anthropological study of one of Israel’s main medical policy-making mechanisms - the Committee for the Enhancement of Medical Services which determines state subsidies for new medical treatments – to explore what it means to use Jewish values as a criterion in healthcare policymaking. Through group text study, we focus on the Jewish notion of "Kdushat Ha'hayim" (sanctity of life). We will review and discuss the main interpretations given to this commandment in Jewish tradition and how these traditions informed the Committee’s most difficult controversies and bioethical challenges.