Medical Association Rejects Plan to Suspend Israel's Doctoral Body
A petition from 6,500 healthcare workers failed to remove the Israeli Medical Association from the World Medical Association in Rotterdam.
By Jack Weber ·
The World Medical Association (WMA) voted to keep the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) as a full member, rejecting a bid to suspend the body. The decision came during a general assembly in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where hundreds of doctors staged a protest. The WMA is the largest international medical body, representing 118 countries. It was founded in 1947 to enforce ethical standards after Nazi doctors were found to have participated in war crimes.
A coalition called IMA Out! presented a petition signed by 6,500 medical personnel. The group urged the WMA to expel the IMA over documented abuses. Protesters carried a shroud listing the names of 18,000 Palestinian children killed in Gaza. Since October 2023, approximately 1,700 healthcare workers have died in the conflict. The IMA represents more than 90 percent of doctors in Israel. Its president, Zion Hagay, chairs the WMA’s socio-medical affairs committee, while chief executive Leah Wapner serves on several advisory committees.
Critics argue the IMA failed to penalize Israeli doctors involved in the torture of detainees. The group points to deaths of Palestinian healthcare workers in Israeli prisons. Dr Jonathan Fluxman, a retired British GP and organiser with IMA Out!, said the WMA and IMA refused to investigate reports from human rights agencies. He told Middle East Eye that the WMA was complicit in the IMA’s involvement. He compared the body’s inaction to the positions of the US and British governments.
The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court last month. This is the first time a WMA member has been referred to the court. The foundation asked the ICC to investigate whether Israeli doctors, the IMA, and officials from Israel’s health and defence ministries participated in torture. Dyab Abou Jahjah, the foundation’s director general, said the WMA must explain why an association that provided cover for torture remains a member.
Efforts to hold the IMA accountable began in 2009. In that year, 725 physicians from 43 countries presented human rights findings at a general assembly in Tel Aviv. In 2016, 71 UK-based doctors urged a suspension. Both attempts failed. The South African Medical Association led a push to suspend the IMA last year. Their motion did not secure the required majority. Instead, the WMA passed a resolution calling on Israel to protect healthcare in Gaza. The IMA has not acted on that resolution.
Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, chairman of the South African Medical Association, said his group was the first to formally cut ties with the IMA. The British and Turkish medical associations later followed suit. Mzukwa missed the Rotterdam assembly because his visa was sent to Pretoria rather than Durban. He suggested intelligence may have been used to prevent his attendance. His group raised concerns in July about Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian paediatrician detained since December 2024. The IMA provided no evidence it sought medical examinations for him.
Whistleblowers from Sde Teiman, a military base converted into a detention camp, documented systemic abuse. They reported denial of medical treatment and amputations performed without anaesthesia. Derek Summerfield, an honorary senior lecturer at King’s College London, said the IMA is the buttress of the Israeli state. The WMA stated that inclusion is central to its identity. It said patients and the protection of health personnel remain its focus. The IMA did not respond to a request for comment.
