NEWS / Israeli woman issued death certificate despite being alive

A 49-year-old Israeli woman was declared dead after experiencing a heart attack, resulting in her being issued a death certificate, as well as having her bank account frozen and insurance accounts canceled.

“Not every day does a person get to see the world after their own death — the death certificate, which letters are sent, and how institutions mobilize,” the woman, Dafna Sagiv Reiss, was quoted by Ynet Global as stating.

In November 2025, Reiss experienced a “cardiac event” and was taken to a Kaplan Medical Center, operated by Clalit Health Services, in Rehevot, Israel. The hospital incorrectly pronounced her dead, meaning that the government issued her a death certificate. Reiss then discovered that the hospital’s error led to her bank account being frozen and her insurance policies canceled.

Reiss reported receiving condolence letters, informative notices regarding her partner's ability to claim benefits, as well as a death certificate in December.

When Reiss experienced her cardiac event in November, Reiss called an ambulance. However, she alleged that the attending physician demonstrated “indifference,” insisting that the cardiac event was “not a heart attack, but a panic attack.” After a reported 6-hour wait, Reiss was finally told that she was, in fact, having a heart attack, but was then forced to walk more than half a mile to get a chest X-ray inside the hospital.

“While I was lying on a couch in the corner of the emergency room, the doctor was filling out a death certificate for me,” Reiss stated. “Apparently another woman had died from complications of pneumonia, and he entered my ID number into the records while I was sitting right next to him.”

Reiss discovered the error 2 days later, when she could not log into her banking app. Through her partner’s app, she discovered that the bank had also labeled her “deceased,” as it had received a notice from the Interior Ministry regarding her supposed death. Moreover, her partner was unable to get Reiss the medication she needed, as the pharmacist claimed she did not “exist” in their system.

The woman later tried to get a car insurance policy but was unable to do so due to her being labeled as being dead.

Due to her inability to use her accounts, Reiss has been struggling to receive the required treatment as her cardiologist appointments get canceled due to the fact that the hospital keeps reporting her as dead.

Reiss claims that the hospital has been very slow and not proactive in correcting their error, as she keeps having to tell agencies that she is still alive. The hospital claims it has corrected the mistake and informed the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority, which, in turn, reportedly issued her a new biometric ID card.

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