Lebanese Doctors Block Israeli Surgeon’s Participation in Medical Conference Over Normalization Concerns

Lebanese doctors successfully prevented senior Israeli-American surgeon Professor Sharona Ross from participating in the 27th Lebanese Spring Surgery Conference held recently at the Le Royal Hotel near Jbeil, north of Beirut. Ross was scheduled to join the event via Zoom, which was organized by the Lebanese Society of General Surgery. However, opposition led by a Lebanese initiative called "Boycott/Resistance-Lebanon" prompted the cancellation. This group, advocating for a boycott of Israel, influenced Elias Shlala, head of the Lebanese Doctors Association, and Rakan Nasr al-Din, the Hezbollah-affiliated Minister of Health, to block her participation.

The boycott group praised the decision as a commitment to Lebanese law and a rejection of normalization with Israel. The report noted that Ross served two years in the Israel Defense Forces and had previously stated that her military experience contributed to her professional development. Opponents argued that such statements help whitewash the Israeli military’s actions in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. They emphasized that the issue extends beyond one doctor’s attendance to the responsibility of Lebanese medical and academic institutions amid the growing academic boycott movement against Israel.

Consequently, they urged Lebanese medical and university bodies to carefully vet participant lists for future events to avoid similar incidents. The controversy reignited debate over whether professional medical activities can be separated from political and ethical responsibilities during wartime. The boycott initiative rejected this separation, asserting that medicine cannot be divorced from ethics and that Beirut should not become a conduit for breaking the isolation of Israeli institutions and figures.