Ringworms

The ringworm affair refers to circumstances involving an alleged number of 20,000 to 200,000 Jews who were treated between 1948 and 1960 for tinea capitis (ringworm) with ionizing radiation to the head and neck area within Israel. The population suffering from the disease in Israel at the time was composed primarily of newly arrived immigrants and populations who were expected to emigrate, mostly from North Africa, as well as some from Middle East and elsewhere, but many Jewish children were irradiated in their home countries regardless of their intent to emigrate. The irradiation of Mizrahi children is viewed by activists in Israel as the most salient example of injustices encountered in the 1950s as a result of shortcomings or irresponsibility on the part of authorities in the absorption in Israeli society of new immigrants. A documentary about the affair, titled The Ringworm Children (Hebrew: ילדי הגזזת, romanized: Yeladei Hagazezet), was released in 2003. The film, which claims that 100,000 children received radiations doses thousands of times beyond what is safe, was lauded at film festivals. However, in 2018, the film's creator distanced himself from it, claiming that it "doesn't meet the scientific criteria." The exact number of Mizrahim who suffered health complications as a result of the treatment is unclear. A study by the Israeli Ministry of Health in coordination with UNICEF, who assisted in the purchase of x-rays for the project, estimated that 15,000 children were irradiated during this period. One nonprofit established to represent patients asserts that the number is as high as 200,000.