Israeli nurses from Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital protesting against attacks in the hospital on March 11, 2012. Photo: Yonatan Sindel / Flash90.

JNS.org – Following the stabbing of a nurse by an illegal immigrant from Eritrea in an Israeli hospital, the Israel Nurses’ Union is calling for a nationwide strike.

A nurse was listed in moderate but stable condition after being stabbed by an Eritrean patient in his thirties at the Shmuel Ha’Rofe hospital in Beer Yaakov on Monday evening. The man was subsequently arrested and brought in for questioning.

Chair of the Nurses’ union, Ilana Cohen, called for a general strike on Wednesday in protest of “violence in the health system.”

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman assured the public that “we are committed to the safety and security of [medical] staff, and we will work with the police and the Public Security Ministry to ensure that such incidents do not recur.”

Just one day prior to the assault, a woman received a five-month community service sentence for attacking hospital security staff in September.

The presiding judge noted that violence against hospital staff has “become widespread” and called on authorities to provide better security for them.