Ehud Olmert on Sunday publicly criticized Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu following reports about Netanyahu’s prostate cancer diagnosis, drawing on his own experience and arguing that the situation should be handled with immediate transparency.

Speaking in an interview on 103FM, Olmert recalled the moment in 2007 when he was informed that he had cancer, describing how he chose to go public without delay and suggesting that failing to do so invites speculation and rumors.

“I was in the car on my way to a memorial for Yitzhak Rabin,” Olmert recounted. “The secretary from my office called and said that Dr. Shegev wanted to speak with me urgently. I assumed he was telling me the test was positive, meaning that I had cancer.”

Olmert described a meeting later that evening at his home with Dr. Kobi Ramon and Dr. Shegev, during which they confirmed the diagnosis.

“They told me the test came back positive and that I had prostate cancer. The size of the tumor was something like less than a centimeter. I said okay, but in any case this has to be reported to the public.”

According to Olmert, the decision to disclose the diagnosis was immediate and based on his understanding that information would inevitably leak.

“I took it as obvious that this is the kind of sensitive matter that a number of people already knew about. The doctors who treated me, the lab workers, the nurses—everyone knows. Within a few days, rumors would start that the prime minister has cancer in his head and that his days are numbered. All kinds of rumors that circulate in situations like this.”

He argued that the best course of action was to present the facts openly and without delay.

“I said that the most correct thing to do is to inform the public exactly what there is and what the course of treatment is. On Monday morning we announced a press conference that would take place within an hour. We didn’t want to announce it a day or two in advance because that would have created the panic we wanted to avoid, as if we were about to announce something dramatic. It was within an hour—there was no time to create panic.”

Olmert concluded by noting that stepping down was never under consideration at the time.

“I didn’t consider resigning. The tumor was found in the center of the prostate capsule and not on the edges, which is usually more dangerous. They said there was nothing that needed to be done immediately.”

{Matzav.com}