Health & Mental Health

• If it is an emergency, go to the hospital or call an ambulance by dialling 101. Emergency room deals with life risking medical situations and severe injuries. Emergency situations can include serious injuries, such as: broken bones, severe wounds, dislocated joints, breathing difficulties, choking, heart attack, or eye injuries. Under Israeli law it is mandatory to treat people in such situations, even if patients do not have medical insurance. For children, you will need to inform your pediatrician afterwards. Babies with high fever, a child on a school trip, or anyone evacuated to the hospital by an ambulance should not have to pay charges afterwards.

However, while patients are not exempted from payment for the medical service received, it is recommended to settle the payment or debt through reduction of the total cost or spreading payments, when possible.

• For children, under the Leumit insurance plan, if it is not an emergency, call *507 for the Leumit helpline (information is available in several languages: Hebrew, English, Arabic, Russian, and French), or go to your local Leumit branch and see the pediatrician.
• In case of doubt or when you need professional advice contact Physicians for Human Rights.

In an emergency and a life-risk situation, do not hesitate to go straight to the hospital.

If it is not an emergency and you do not have health insurance, whether you are an adult or a child, you can go to Bikurofe Clinic in Holon and pay 40 ILS per visit. Bikurofe is a public clinic for asylum seekers without medical insurance as well as for some other non-citizen residents in Israel. The clinic provides primary medical services and medical experts.

Holon: Bikurofe
Address: 35 HaHistadrut St, 2nd Floor.
Operating hours: Sunday – Thursday from 8:00-20:00 and Friday 08:00-14:00
Phone/ WhatsApp: 073-3244960

Haifa:  Ve’Ahavta(ואהבת) – volunteers clinic which provides general medical services, including for children (info is available in Hebrew, English, Arabic and Amharic);

Jerusalem: Hadassa Ein Kerem Hospital Students’ Clinic- Lereacha Kamocha (לרעך כמוך), which provides medical services for asylum seekers without medical insurance.

Tel-Aviv – Yafo: The Open Clinic of Physicians for Human Rights –located in Jaffa, provides healthcare to people living in Israel with no access to healthcare.

The Open Clinic Address: 4 Baruch Sapir St. Jaffa-Tel Aviv (Parallel to 9 Dror St.)
Telephone: 03-5133120
Clinic Hours: General Doctor, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday – 3 PM

Citizens of Sudan, Eritrea, and Ukraine who are 60 years old and older are eligible to register for Leumit medical insurance at the cost of 320 NIS per month.

• Visits to doctors at Leumit Health Fund branches or affiliates of the Leumit Health Fund
• Consultations with specialists
• Tests, such as blood tests, x-rays, hearing and eyes tests
• Discounted prices for medicines (NOTE: for some medicines, there is a small copay, the same fee that Israelis pay)
• Free dental treatment for children up to the age of 12 years
• Diagnosis and treatment of developmental problems
• Treatments in hospitals, including hospitalization and surgery
• Some services will require a copay

Eritrean, Sudanese and Ukrainian children born in Israel and insured before they are 6 months old are eligible from birth until the age of 18, but they are subject to a waiting period of six months in which they will receive partial coverage

In addition, all newborns and their mothers can receive free services and support from the The Family Care Center of the Ministry of Health. Their professional staff includes nurses and physicians who have been specially trained in public health. Some Family Care Centers offer professional assistance, education and guidance in other areas, such as nutrition, vaccination, monitoring growth and development, healthy lifestyles and counselling to parents.

For new registrations, only children of Eritrean, Sudanese and Ukrainian citizenships are eligible to benefit from health insurance. If you are from one of these nationalities and have recently entered Israel, or if your child was not previously insured – your child may be eligible for basic services only, during a procedural waiting period of up to 6 months, during which you need to pay the medical insurance fees for your child.

Basic medical services do not include hospitalization, surgeries or specialist consultations. However, emergency room visits are included. After six months, the child receives full medical coverage.

If you are regularly employed, your employer is required to enrol you in health insurance. If you need more information on organizing health insurance through your employer, contact Kav LaOved.

If you are between 18-60 years old and not employed, the only option is to purchase private insurance. Please note that insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions, or chronic health issues that were diagnosed before applying for health insurance Physicians for Human Rights can be consulted with regarding this situation.

• There are many organizations where you can meet with others in a group session to support or sustain each other by discussing your common problems.
• ASSAF organization offers individual and group aid and support to various groups, including single mothers, survivors of trafficking and torture, people with disabilities, youth and more. Visit reception hours for more information and referrals for mental health clinics.
• JACC offers emotional support and psycho-social help. JACC assists also in exercising your rights and can accompany you to doctor appointments and medical exams.
  Address: 33 Jaffa Street, 3^rd floor. Jerusalem 
  Reception: every Sunday 18:00-20:00 (no appointment necessary)

It is recommended to take the test at the Israel AIDS Task Force’s testing centers, at hospital AIDS centers.  At the Israel AIDS Task Force’s testing centers in Tel Aviv and Beersheva, testing is anonymous. There is no need to present an ID. The entire process is discreet and not recorded anywhere.

In Tel Aviv:

• Israeli AIDS Taskforce
  Phone: 03-561-3300

• Levinsky Clinic for Sexual Health
  Opening Hours:
  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 16:00 – 19:00
  Wednesday 12:00 – 16:00
  Thursday 10:00 – 13:00
  Address: 108 Levinsky street, inside the central bus station, 5th floor (above Eged lines 4 and 5)
  ➡️To schedule appointments call during open hours: 03-5373738

Counselling Hotline for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV in different cities:

Call 03-7919704 during:
Monday and Tuesday: 14:00 – 19:00
Email: [email protected]

Beersheva: Levinsky mobile clinic
Address:  14Phinehas Hotzev St.
Telephone: 050-6242722

Jerusalem: Levinsky mobile clinic
➡️A phone appointment is required.
Phone: 050-9095682

Haifa: The Persians clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV test
Address: 15 Haparsim st. Haifa.
Phone: 04-8619719
➡️Arrival must be arranged in advance via WhatsApp 058-4619719

Opening hours:
Sundays and Wednesdays: 9:00-12:30
Mondays and Tuesdays: 15:00-18:30

Access to safe, voluntary family planning is a human right. Family planning is central to maintaining women’s health, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. Family planning includes information about contraceptives, birth control, and other women’s health-related issues.

Family planning in Tel Aviv

Visit Physicians for Human Rights Clinic to see a women’s doctor, advice on family planning and consultation as well as adjusting birth control.

Family planning in Jerusalem

LADAAT– The organization provides free counselling on contraceptives, abortions, and reproductive health (English and Hebrew).