Jewish doctors quit SAMA over anti-Israel boycott

At least 80 Jewish doctors and healthcare professionals have resigned from the South African Medical Association (SAMA) after it suspended all ties with the Israel Medical Association (IMA) last month and called for the IMA’s expulsion from the World Medical Association (WMA). 

The move, which many medical professionals describe as deeply divisive and politically motivated, has intensified concerns over rising anti-Israel sentiment and, increasingly, antisemitism within the global medical fraternity. 

For many Jewish doctors in South Africa, SAMA’s announcement created discomfort and a sense of alienation. Several have already resigned, while others are withholding decisions as discussions between stakeholders continue. A number of non-Jewish doctors have also voiced disquiet, saying the association’s stance risks damaging collegiality and professionalism in the medical field. 

Wendy Kahn, the national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), said the Board had been approached on this issue by a number of doctors from different faith backgrounds, many of whom have been members of SAMA for many decades. 

“They have expressed concern, not just with the resolutions, but with SAMA’s lack of broad consultation,” she said. 

“We reached out to SAMA chief executive, Dr Mzulungile Nodikida, who agreed to meet us. We felt that he and his colleagues were genuinely concerned by the impact that these resolutions have had on members. We highlighted how this was at variance with the SAMA guiding principle of ‘uniting doctors for the health of the nation’,” she said. 

Nodikida undertook to take the issue urgently back to the Board with a view to revisiting these decisions, she said. “We have urged members to wait for the outcome of this meeting before considering any further action,” Kahn said. 

“It’s discouraging when medical associations like SAMA openly display unethical behaviour by promoting biased positions relating to Israel,” said Dr Martin Strous, the chairperson of the South African Association of Jewish Mental Health and Allied Practitioners (SAJMAP). “SAMA’s decision prompted significant backlash from Jewish medical professionals. Several doctors have resigned, while others are seeking reform within SAMA. It’s hoped that SAMA will reconsider its position.” 

Strous said SAJMAP’s membership almost doubled following SAMA’s 4 October statement, a reflection of health professionals’ desire to align themselves with an organisation that rejects bias and advocates for professional integrity. 

The repercussions of SAMA’s stance come amid growing hostility towards Jewish and Israeli professionals globally. This week, Israeli academic Dr Galia Moran of Ben-Gurion University withdrew from speaking at the 7th Global Mental Health Summit, held in Cape Town from 10 to 12 November, after pressure and threats of protest from anti-Israel activists, including a planned demonstration outside the Cape Town City Hall. 

In response, the SAJBD said, “This bullying behaviour does nothing more than silence academic discourse and stifle engagement on critical topics such as mental health. It’s regrettable that the conference organisers permitted narrow political grandstanding to obstruct legitimate scholarly exploration.” 

Strous added: “The deliberate singling out of Dr Moran, not for her ideas but for her Israeli identity, exemplifies precisely the kind of prejudice our association seeks to address.” 

The episode has been condemned in academic and medical circles as yet another example of how anti-Israel activism increasingly spills into professional and humanitarian spaces. 

In its statement on 4 October, SAMA said it had resolved to suspend immediately all professional and bilateral relations with the IMA and to call for its suspension from the WMA. It cited grave concern regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and what it described as the IMA’s failure to uphold international medical ethics and humanitarian obligations. 

The association said the resolution would remain in force until the IMA took verifiable action to demand the release of detained Palestinian medical personnel, condemn the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, and advocate for the free flow of medical supplies. 

Despite SAMA’s lobbying, the WMA didn’t suspend the IMA. Instead, on 13 October, the WMA adopted a new resolution urging the Israeli government to uphold humanitarian law and protect healthcare in Gaza, while simultaneously reaffirming its prior call for the immediate and safe release of all hostages. 

The WMA emphasised that the protection of healthcare and respect for medical neutrality must remain fundamental, even in times of conflict. 

Strous said SAMA’s actions appeared to have been influenced by union alliances; advocacy by the British Medical Association; and calls from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. 

He warned that it aligned with South Africa’s broader pattern of political and institutional support for actions against Israel, including its referral of Israel to the International Court of Justice. 

In a detailed position statement issued on 5 October, SAJMAP accused SAMA of procedural irregularities and ideological bias, demanding that it publish full details of its so-called extensive consultation. SAJMAP questioned who was consulted; whether members with opposing views – particularly Jewish members – were invited to participate; and whether votes were recorded or counted. 

The organisation also highlighted what it called ideologically skewed editorial gatekeeping within SAMA’s structures, citing recent controversies at the South African Medical Journal, which declined to publish rebuttals to anti-Israel commentary. 

“Recent editorial and policy decisions, together with SAMA’s latest move, have created a reasonable perception of ideological bias within the association’s leadership,” the statement said. “It’s unclear whether this stance reflects the views of the broader SAMA membership.” 

“Medical boycotts harm patients, slow down innovation, and erode the humanitarian space medicine must protect,” said Strous. SAJMAP referenced the Global Jewish Health Alliance’s January 2025 letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council opposing medical boycotts, arguing that severing scientific co-operation delays treatment, disrupts research, and ultimately injures patients globally. 

The association also noted SAMA’s silence on Hamas’s use of hospitals as military bases and its failure to call for the release of hostages held in Gaza, saying that this selective activism raises serious concerns about discrimination. 

“If SAMA’s objective is genuinely to protect patients and uphold humanitarian law,” SAJMAP said, “there are constructive, non-boycott approaches fully consistent with medical ethics. Constructive engagement grounded in dialogue rather than disengagement would strengthen ethical accountability and promote tangible health benefits across divides.” 

SAMA’s move follows similar initiatives in parts of Europe, North America, and the United Kingdom, where medical bodies and journals have issued statements harshly critical of Israel, often with little or no reference to the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks that triggered the ongoing war. 

SAMA had not responded to questions by the time of publication.