Israel Medical Association Clashes With Intern Leader Over Transparency
Dr. Assaf Vital lost his volunteer role representing medical interns at the Israel Medical Association after demanding financial transparency and clashing with leadership over governance and elections.
Dr. Assaf Vital joined the Israel Medical Association (IMA) in early 2025 to improve employment conditions for medical interns, but his activities evolved into a clash with the IMA leadership, ultimately ending in the loss of his volunteer position. Interns are medical school graduates in the transitional phase between receiving their academic degree and obtaining a medical license, working hospital shifts under an organizational and employment status distinct from regular physicians. Their hospital placements are determined by a lottery system, often requiring relocation and significant expenses, while the shortening of the internship period from 12 to 9 months introduced additional uncertainty. In some hospitals, interns lack a rest room and a hot meal. According to Vital, "In my capacity as chairman, there were many battles, because nothing works there." One of his central claims is that the IMA is managed by and effectively represents primarily senior veteran physicians, while young doctors have limited influence over decisions concerning their future. The IMA rejects all of Vital's allegations.
Vital also attempted to participate in discussions regarding changes to the IMA election system. He stated that he approached a committee headed by Prof. Yoram Idelman, established to examine the system, and requested to include an intern observer. His request was denied, as was his demand to allow intern representatives to participate in salary negotiations. In February 2026, Vital approached Adv. Sarah Broker, responsible for legal counsel to residents and interns, requesting new elections for the intern forum after the forum was left without other active representatives. However, the IMA requested to wait. On February 15, Broker explained that following the shortening of the internship period, a new format for the forum was being examined, and therefore elections should not be held at this stage. Vital asked to be involved in the process to represent the interns' positions, but stated he was not included.
Vital began demanding information regarding the IMA's financial conduct, including financial reports, the use of member funds, executive salaries, and protocols of organizational institution meetings. From his perspective, IMA members who finance its operations through membership dues are entitled to know where the money goes and how decisions are made. On June 21, 2026, a conversation took place between Vital, Adv. Leah Wapner, CEO of the organization for over 20 years, and Adv. Broker. According to Vital, Wapner committed to granting him full digital access to the IMA's reports. However, on July 21, despite coordinating his arrival, he was informed that there were no reports to collect. He arrived anyway and met with another attorney who clarified that there are no arrangements for reviewing documents and no possibility of obtaining the financial reports.
On July 30, Vital raised the issue at an IMA secretariat meeting. According to him, Adv. Wapner interrupted him from presenting the matter fully, and he announced that he had approached the Registrar of Ottoman Societies, claiming the IMA was failing to meet its transparency obligations. Following the meeting, he sent two emails to all secretariat members warning of alleged legal violations, to which he claims no one responded. He also failed to receive the meeting protocol, despite regulations requiring its distribution. Relations between Vital and the IMA leadership continued to deteriorate. According to Vital, Ethics Committee Chairman Dr. Yossi Wolfisch claimed the reports are on the internet and that he saw no problem in the handling of Vital.
On August 26, while still serving as chairman of the intern forum and prior to elections, Adv. Wapner blocked him on WhatsApp, and he was subsequently cut off from the organization's activity channels. The IMA denies he was blocked. On September 1, elections for the intern forum were held. Vital, who became a resident in January 2026, was no longer supposed to run for a position in the intern forum. According to him, under a 2019 agreement between the IMA and the ASLI intern organization, the three chairmen of the intern forum are supposed to automatically continue as representatives in the resident forum, implying the transition does not require additional elections. However, the IMA responded that Vital was required to run in the elections according to the bylaws.
On September 16, Vital applied to the IMA's internal tribunal, requesting the enforcement of regulations concerning the transition to the resident forum, and on October 11 was informed his request was denied. The IMA stated that Vital filed a lawsuit before receiving its formal response. Meanwhile, on September 17, a scheduled meeting between Vital and two IMA deputy chairmen, Dr. Marina Kuptzik and Dr. Boaz Bloch, was canceled on the same day and not rescheduled, where Vital intended to raise claims regarding interns' rights and transparency. The IMA rejects the claims, emphasizing that it adopted stringent transparency standards years ago, publishing financial data and executive salaries online, while allowing any member to coordinate a visit to Deloitte's offices to review the reports. The IMA stated that this was a proper term completion following elections, unrelated to his demands, adding: "We wish Dr. Vital success and are certain he will excel."
