LETTER: Weighing in on Israel/Gaza

Witnessing the unfolding humanitarian and health catastrophe in Gaza, South African doctors felt compelled to weigh in. In mid-March, two articles were submitted to the South African Medical Journal. One was titled “Healthcare and Genocide: BDS as an entry point to health justice” and the other was “Israel’s Systematic Weaponisation of Health in Gaza”. The editor at the time, Bridget Farham, declined their publication. Both academically sound articles were subsequently published in the South African Journal of Bioethics and Law.

Farham went on to publish an editorial around the issue. Responding to the accusation of “moral cowardice” by one of the authors (over e-mail), she openly claims to be forwarding her opinions. Without adequate context, only Farham’s voice was heard. She personally concludes that both pieces were “heavily biased toward Palestine”, saying that no mention was made of October 7, echoing a mainstream ahistorical narrative — where 75 years of occupation are overlooked. Farham, perhaps unwittingly, uses the rhetoric often employed by Zionists in requesting a “balanced discussion”. This faux balance obscures a very clear power asymmetry inherent in the prevailing apartheid structure. Would South African anti-apartheid writers be required to consider the viewpoint of and give justification for National Party policies?

Farham reduces a political issue to a “religious conflict”. While seemingly innocuous, this framing obfuscates the core issue: Israeli settler colonialism. A “religious conflict” can be morally brushed aside by uninvested parties as an age-old conflict between Abrahamic faiths. A modern-day colonial project with accusations of “genocide” and ethnic cleansing demands moral outrage on a larger scale.

Farham has “mixed feelings” about South Africa’s International Court of Justice application, saying that it has “been remarkably silent about similar events in Sudan and [the Democratic Republic of Congo]”. This “whataboutism” deflects attention from the issue by highlighting problems elsewhere.

Following complaints by readers, Farham retracted her editorial and issued an unreserved apology for “inadvertently” offending and upsetting many readers. By this time, readers had reached out to Farham’s seniors and the FM reported on April 4 that Farham resigned from her role due to the South African Medical Association head office issuing a public apology “without consulting her”. While Farham resigned, the headline of the article misleadingly reads: “Editor Ousted: Gaza Conflict Costs Journalist her Job”.

Farham gave no academic or medical reasons for declining the publication of the writings. While entitled to make an editorial decision, she abused her editorial platform by offering a single narrative which was ill-informed at a historical moment when rhetoric should be replaced by fact and morality; Farham did not give the counternarrative an opportunity.

Drs Ayesha Jacub and Saadiq Moolla

Members of the advocacy grouping Healthcare Workers for Palestine and authors of “Healthcare and Genocide: BDS as an entry point to health justice”

The FM welcomes concise letters from readers. They can be sent to fmmail@fm.co.za