The department for Mental Health, Law and Ethics, at the International Center for Health, Law and Ethics, took it upon itself to promote the professional discussion regarding bullying at workplace as well as during army service, as an ethical, mental and legal subject of discussion.
The first conference ever to be held in Israel on the matter took place at the Israeli Bar Association in Haifa, on 18/6/2008.
The Program contained the following lectures:
Prof. Roberto Mester, Dr. Jacob Margolin, Adv. Oren Asman, "Bullying at workplace: Psychiatric aspects"
Hon. Justice Vered Sheffer, "Causal relation between Work related events and Mental Harm – The Labor Courts Position"
Dr. Shmuel Wolfman, Adv., "Legal recognition of Mental Disability as being caused by Work/ Army Service"
Dr. Chaim Knobler, "Psycho-Legal Aspects of Bullying among the Defence System Workers"
Adv. Oren Asman, Prof. Roberto Mester, "Suicide as a Work Accident"
After the conference, several professionals (Lawyers, Judges, Social Workers, Psychologists, Human Resource Personnel) turned to our department, asking to be a part of a multi-disciplinary group for discussing and promoting research regarding Bullying at workplace in Israel. Initial steps are being made to form this group.
A second conference is to be held on February, for Legal assistants at the Israeli Labor courts, on February 2009.
A session about Bullying is planned during the annual meeting of the Israeli Psychiatric association, to be held on May 2009.
A presentation about "Bullying at Workplace" was represented by Prof. Mester and Adv. Asman at the 17th Congress of Medical Law held in Beijing on October 2008.
A TV interview with Prof. Mester about "Psychiatric and Legal Aspects of Bullying" was filmed on 31/8/2008 and is available on-line at the Haifa University Academic Channel (Interview was held in Hebrew, see: http://actv.haifa.ac.il/programs/Item.aspx?it=1340)
