Whether you think the techniques are motivated by profit-making, cater to
desperate and gullible people and could even be harmful, or that they relieve
pain and cure illness, save lives and are suppressed by physicians who fear
competition, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is definitely here to
stay.
An impressive new English-language book, written by a veteran Hebrew University professor (emerita) of sociology and a young HU researcher
with a newly minted doctorate in the field, is the result of a decade of joint
research.
Titled Alternative and Bio-Medicine in Israel: Boundaries and
Bridges, the volume does not judge whether CAM is effective or has been proven
by scientific evidence. Instead, Prof. Judith Shuval and Dr. Emma
Averbuch – supplemented by nine academic contributors – provides a fascinating
historical analysis of CAM in pre-state and contemporary Israel. It is also a
formidable examination of how CAM is carried out by physicians and those without
formal medical credentials; the cultural and political context; conflicts and
partnerships; and recommendations of where to go in the future.
Source - Jerusalem Post
