The Israeli Medical Association defended Israel over the Gaza genocide - it must be sanctioned Submitted by Ghada Majadli on Tue, 07/07/2026 - 11:48 Amid growing calls for its suspension from the World Medical Association, the professional body claimed political neutrality even as it worked to block accountability for Israel's crimes Medical staff treat a patient in the underground ward of Rambam hospital in Haifa, Israel, 22 September 2024 (Sipa USA/Reuters Connect) Off As calls grow to suspend the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) from the World Medical Association (WMA), much of the debate has focused on the association's failure to condemn the destruction of Gaza's healthcare system and attacks on health in Lebanon and Iran. In response to the recent petition published in The Lancet calling on the WMA to suspend the IMA, the IMA argued: "The signatories' calls to expel the IMA from the WMA seem to confuse a country's government with its medical association, an extremely dangerous precedent." The IMA has not simply failed to uphold its ethical and medical obligations by remaining silent in the face of these attacks. It has actively challenged and opposed efforts by international medical and academic associations, professional bodies and medical journals abroad to condemn Israel's actions in Gaza.
It has mobilised its professional authority to contest allegations of war crimes and genocide, and to push back against calls to end the war and hold Israel accountable. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); This conduct, since 7 October, both domestically and internationally, tells a story of complicity that has been largely absent from the current debate. Beyond silence While the association presents itself as institutionally separate from the state of Israel when confronted with demands for accountability, its conduct reveals a far more entangled relationship.
The IMA has long understood its role as extending beyond that of an independent professional body, aligning itself with Israeli policies affecting the health of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and positioning itself as a defender of state policies and practices towards Palestinians more broadly. It has been complicit in the torture of Palestinian prisoners, and has aligned itself with Israel's siege on Gaza This role has become particularly pronounced si…
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