Heavy mourning in the healthcare system: The groundbreaking physician has passed away
The Sheba Medical Center mourns the loss of Prof. Binyamina Morag, the first woman in Israel to practice interventional radiology, who led therapeutic revolutions and introduced innovative treatments that saved many lives.
The medical world in Israel is saying goodbye to one of the most prominent and influential figures in its history, Prof. Binyamina Morag. Morag is widely considered a pioneer of interventional radiology and was the first woman in the country to work in this field.
Morag was born in 1940 in Kibbutz Beit Oren on the Carmel. Later, her family moved to Tel Aviv. In 1959, after her discharge from the IDF, she married her high school partner, Baruch. The couple moved to Austria to study medicine in Vienna, later returning to Israel to join the first graduating class of the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine.
Upon completing their internship, they moved south and served as family doctors in Kiryat Gat for two years, during a period when the area was considered a distressed region. In 1970, Morag began her residency in diagnostic radiology at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer, which she completed in 1975.
Driven by a desire to engage in active medical work beyond just interpreting X-rays, Morag was integrated by Professors Yaakov Yitzhak and Zeli Rubinstein into the field of angiography—a field then in its infancy, now known as interventional radiology.
Over the years, Morag significantly advanced the field by training residents, writing dozens of scientific articles, and integrating innovative technologies. In 1991, she was awarded the rank of Professor of Diagnostic Radiology by Tel Aviv University. Following the sudden passing of Prof. Rubinstein in 1996, Morag was appointed director of the Interventional Radiology Unit.
In this role, she led efforts to develop advanced invasive procedures. In 1997, under her leadership, the first stent graft for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm was introduced in Israel. This breakthrough significantly strengthened the cooperation between interventional radiology and vascular surgeons—a collaboration that accompanied Morag throughout her professional and personal life.
Following her passing, the Sheba Medical Center published an official statement:
"The management and staff of the Sheba Medical Center bow their heads in deep sorrow over the passing of Prof. Binyamina Morag, of blessed memory. She was a groundbreaking physician, one of the pioneers of interventional radiology in Israel, an outstanding professional, and a teacher for generations of doctors. We share in the family's deep sorrow."
