The witness, Prof. A. Grotto: Association of Public Health Physicians.
Adv. Mr. Amos Goren: An article dated April 22, 10 days after you wrote the letter, whose headline is "Ministry of Health," I read the headline, the Ministry of Health apologizes for the contradiction regarding the cancer data, in quotation marks the analysis of the data is not optimal. And it says under the heading Professor Itamar Grotto, who linked cancer in children in the Haifa area to air pollution in the area, appeared in the media yesterday and said that the analysis of the data on my part, Here they quote, Analyzing the data on my part was not optimal. Professor Arnon Afek also apologized for the contradiction in the data and noted that the ministry continues to examine the morbidity data. Do you remember that? That such a thing was published?
The witness, Prof. A. Grotto: Yes, I definitely remember.
Adv. Mr. Amos Goren: Remember. And there was another headline, another article that was published again by the Association of Public Health Physicians in Israel, The title of which was a confrontation between oncologists and the Ministry of Health. Assessments of pediatric cancer in Haifa do not make sense. This was an article from April 19. To remind you, I'll tell you what was said there.
Adv. Mr. A. Amorai: What's the question, but?
The Honorable Judge D. Chasdai: One second, you'll hear it.
Adv. Mr. A. Amorai: If he remembers?
Adv. Mr. Amos Goren: Yes.
Adv. Mr. A. Amorai: Okay.
Adv. Mr. Amos Goren: It was said that the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Association and the Pediatric Association, of the Israel Medical Association, published a joint statement over the weekend in which they stated that, quoting, There is no reason to panic following the published study on the cause of excess cancer morbidity among children in Haifa, the data presented is illogicalThe announcement was made following a public uproar last week over the assessment of Professor Itamar Grotto, head of public health services at the Ministry of Health, according to which 50 percent of cancer cases among children in Haifa are caused by air pollution in the area. The two doctors' associations of the Medical Association therefore presented their position. There is no proof of the excess morbidity among children with cancer in the Haifa area. The link between air pollution and cancer among children in Haifa has never been conclusively proven. That's how they write.