Military service during the 1956 Sinai War provided the initial impetus for a career defined by civil protest and medical advocacy. Witnessing the execution of unarmed prisoners and the unintended casualties of friendly fire, the young soldier transitioned from the Givati Brigade to the lecture halls of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, qualifying as a physician by 1963.
Medical Reform and Psychiatry
During her medical studies, Marton campaigned against the institutional quota that limited female enrollment to ten percent. She successfully pressured the university to remove these restrictions, including a contentious ban on female students wearing trousers. By 1974, she began a twelve-year tenure as a senior psychiatrist at the Shalvata Mental Health Center in Hod Hasharon. Collaborating with director Professor Davidson, she moved to establish community-based clinics outside traditional hospital settings. Her work included conducting the first professional survey of private psychiatric facilities in the Sharon area to review patient discharge criteria and medication appropriateness.
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From 1975 to 1990, Marton held a teaching role within the post-graduate psychiatry program at the Institute of Psychotherapy at Tel Aviv University. Her pedagogical approach emphasized interpersonal relations between clinicians and patients, advocating for the inclusion of humanities grades in medical school admissions. She pioneered the use of dynamic group sessions for medical students to process their clinical experiences, an approach that became standardized training.
Human Rights and Activism
Marton engaged in extensive political and humanitarian organizing, beginning in 1962. She co-founded several groups, including the Committee Against the War in Lebanon and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. In 1988, she established the Association of Israeli-Palestinian Physicians for Human Rights, later known as Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, which she chaired for a decade. Her efforts extended to women's health through the founding of One in Nine, a support group for breast cancer patients, and political advocacy through organizations like the Committee for Political Prisoners and the Committee for the Rights of Residency.
Fast facts
- Born: 1937, Jerusalem
- Medical degree: 1963, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Military service: Givati Brigade
- Psychiatry tenure: 1974-1986, Shalvata Mental Health Center
- Physicians for Human Rights-Israel founder: 1988
- Award: Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award
Questions readers ask
What event influenced her early activism?
Her experiences serving in the Givati Brigade during the 1956 Sinai War, where she witnessed prisoner executions and friendly fire incidents.
Which organization did she lead for ten years?
She served as the chairwoman of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, which she founded in 1988.
