New attacks upon the already perilous status of doctors who happen to be Jews have been launched by the Union of Medical Specialists of Austria.
The union has compiled a list of regulations defining the conditions, which will entitle a medical man to apply for recognition as a qualified specialist. One of these regulations stipulates that all applicants must first work for a set period in public clinics which teach the specialties they wish to take up.
But it is impossible for a Jew to obtain a position in any public institution, so that in a few years not a single Jewish doctor will be able to procure recognition by the union.
Not only is work in a public clinic required under the new regulations. Whether the intended specialized subject lies in the surgical or non-surgical branches, the would-be specialist must spend four or five years as a salaried official and is forbidden to practice privately during this time.
The union is of lofty standing throughout the country, particularly in Vienna, where, of 4,000 doctors, thirty per cent. are estimated to be Jews. There are 1,250 specialists in this city, thirty-five per cent. of whom are Jews.
Considerable opposition has been aroused in Jewish circles. It is expected that some modification of the rules will be made.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
