Abu Kabir Forensic Institute
The L. Greenberg National Institute of Forensic Medicine (Template:Lang-he-n) also known as Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, is an Israeli forensic research laboratory located in the Abu Kabir neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel.
History
Established in 1954, the Greenberg National Institute of Forensic Medicine is a department of the Israeli Health Ministry and affiliated with the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tel Aviv. Administratively it reports to Assaf HaRofeh Hospital.
The Abu Kabir Institute is the only facility in Israel and the occupied territories authorized to conduct autopsies in cases of unnatural death.[1][2] The lab at Abu Kabir conducts forensic examination in cases of rape, homicide, suicide and suspicious death. It also identifies victims of terror attacks. [3]
Controversy
In 2005, chief pathologist Yehuda Hiss admitted as part of a plea bargain to the unauthorized removal of organs, bone and tissue from 125 bodies in the 1990s. Israel confirmed Hiss's charge, but claimed that the organ harvesting stopped a decade ago.[4][5][6][7]
In 2009, Abu Kabir was mentioned in a controversial Swedish press article by Donald Bostrom. Bostrom claimed that the forensic institute was involved in an human organ trafficking ring involving soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces abducting Palestinians to harvest their organs.[8]
The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed that the practice of illegally harvesting "skin, corneas, heart valves and bones" from the bodies of both Israeli citizens and Palestinians, as well as foreign workers, had been ongoing at Abu Kabir throughout the 1990s.[9][10][11][12][13][14] According to then head of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, Dr. Yehuda Hiss, "organs were not harvested if it was believed relatives might discover it," and "in some cases glue was used to close eyelids to hide missing corneas."[10] In a statement quoted by Israeli television Channel 2, however, the IDF stated that "this activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer."[13] The Israeli Health Ministry added that "for the last 10 years, Abu Kabir has been working according to ethics and Jewish law,"[13] while insisting that all organ harvesting was done with permission[9]. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a professor of anthropology at the University of California-Berkeley, said she decided to make the interview with Hiss public in the wake of the 2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy[9]. She further states that the Israel Defense Forces' involvement was a "widely-known secret in Israel."[15]
The Attorney General of Israel dropped criminal charges against Dr. Yehuda Hiss, who director of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute from 1988 to 2004 -- when he was dismissed "because of irregularities over use of organs there."[9] Hiss "still works as chief pathologist at the institute."[9]
References
- ^ Judy Siegel (December 28, 2000). "Foreign experts to inspect Abu Kabir forensic institute". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ Mary Barrett (April 1990). "Autopsies and Executions". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA): p. 21.
{{cite journal}}:|page=has extra text (help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Judy Siegel (December 28, 2000). "Foreign experts to inspect Abu Kabir forensic institute". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h6I8H32kJbxHmG__nQrcVSOcRmUQD9CN5OQO0
- ^ http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/90518
- ^ Yael Cohen, Identifying dead, comforting the survivors at Abu Kabir, Cleveland Jewish News, 27 September 2002
- ^ Judy Siegel, Foreign experts to inspect Abu Kabir forensic institute, Jerusalem Post, 28 December 2000
- ^ Boström, Donald (2009-08-17). ""Våra söner plundras på sina organ"". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ a b c d e Mark Lavie, Israel harvested organs in '90s without permission, Associated Press, 2009-12-21. Retrieved on 2009-12-24.
- ^ a b Kevin Flower and Guy Azriel, Israel harvested organs without permission, officials say, CNN, 2009-12-21. Retrieved on 2009-12-24.
- ^ Anne Barker, Israel admits organ harvesting, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2009-12-22. Retrieved on 2009-12-24.
- ^ Simon McGregor-Wood, Israel Took Organs of Dead Without Permission, ABC News, 2009-12-21. Retrieved on 2009-12-24.
- ^ a b c Mark Lavie, Israel admits to taking organs illegally, The New Zealand Herald, 2009-12-21. Retrieved on 2009-12-24.
- ^ Israel admits to harvesting Palestinian organs, Global Times, 2009-12-22. Retrieved on 2009-12-24.
- ^ Magnus Sundholm, Man höll tyst av plikt mot landet, Aftonbladet, 2009-12-22. Retrieved on 2009-12-24.