Attrition: Subverting Sick Call

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November 8,2008: After an undercover investigation, Israeli police arrested five Arab Israeli doctors for selling medical certificates to soldiers, who used the certificates to certify that they were ill, and enabling the soldiers to take days off from service. The doctors charged about $12 for each day off a certificate got the soldier. In Israel, civilian doctors are allowed to certify a soldiers unfitness for duty. This is largely used for the many reservists who are called up each year. There are military doctors, but not enough of them to treat all the troops on active duty. The military became aware of the scam, which apparently involved several hundred soldiers, when they noted a large number of Jewish soldiers using a clinic in an Arab neighborhood. The soldiers who made the false claims will also face punishment, as the doctors are tried for fraud and other serious charges.