Over 5,000 Doctors Worldwide Oppose Boycott of Israeli Medical Association

More than 5,000 doctors from 46 countries have signed a petition opposing efforts to boycott the Israeli Medical Association. This response follows a recent initiative published in the British medical journal The Lancet, where around 1,000 doctors called for Israel's exclusion from the World Medical Association. The Israeli Medical Association appealed to the global body to prevent discrimination and keep politics separate from medicine. The petition, signed by physicians from countries including Canada, Brazil, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy, emphasizes that medical organizations should remain spaces for universal scientific cooperation rather than political exclusion. The signatories condemned boycotts and exclusion as aggressive actions contrary to the medical mission. They further stated that the accusations against the Israeli Medical Association are either false or highly disputed and ignore Hamas's role in damaging Gaza's healthcare system and violating the Geneva Conventions.