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- Published on: 21 November 2023
- Published on: 21 November 2023
- Published on: 21 November 2023
- Published on: 20 November 2023
- Published on: 16 November 2023
- Published on: 16 November 2023
- Published on: 16 November 2023
- Published on: 10 November 2023
- Published on: 9 November 2023
- Published on: 9 November 2023
- Published on: 9 November 2023
- Published on: 9 November 2023
- Published on: 9 November 2023
- Published on: 9 November 2023
- Published on: 9 November 2023
- Published on: 8 November 2023
- Published on: 2 November 2023
- Published on: 2 November 2023
- Published on: 30 October 2023
- Published on: 27 October 2023
- Published on: 27 October 2023
- Published on: 27 October 2023
- Published on: 26 October 2023
- Published on: 21 November 2023Supporting the call for a ceasefire
The International Network for Epidemiology and Policy (NEP) represents 24 epidemiology societies across the globe and works to address policies at the global level that have public health impacts. This includes wars and conflict which cause suffering to large populations and constitute major public health crises (1,2).
As public health experts, the International Network for Epidemiology leadership share the concerns expressed in the editorial by Smith et al (3). The lives of all people should be protected. There is never an ethically defensible justification for murdering civilians or taking them hostage, bombing families, hospitals, schools, universities, Non-Government Organizations, or any residential building. Nor is there justification for depriving people of water, food, electricity, medicine, and shelter.
Calling for a ceasefire based on humanitarian reasons is what every public health expert would do. This is what the authors of the above-mentioned editorial were calling for. We denounce any accusations and threats to authors and editors for expressing such views on the need for preservation of human life, and for ethical standards of conducting wars (2). Such accusations, threats, and lobbying for one political view or another, should not have any place in academic discussions on public health. These activities undermine freedom of speech, the global mission of public health, and the very basic tenets of human rights and dignity to live (2).
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None declared. - Published on: 21 November 2023Getting to the root of root causes
October 24, 2023
To the Editor:
We were absolutely horrified to read the blatantly political editorial entitled "Violence in Palestine demands immediate resolution of its settler colonial root causes" in the BMJ Global Health, which according to its website is an "online journal from BMJ dedicated to publishing high-quality peer-reviewed content". The article lacks any scientific value.
The editorial completely ignores the events of October 7, when Hamas terrorists raped, burnt, mutilated, tortured and killed entire families and took women, children and the elderly hostage. In addition, it is full of distortions and obfuscations.
The article refers to alleged "implementation of eliminatory settler colonial strategies by the Israeli occupation that aims to increase morbidity and mortality ". Besides the fact that Gaza has not been occupied by Israel since 2007, and putting aside for a moment the thousands of patients from Gaza (including Hamas terrorists!) that have been treated in Israeli hospitals, and Gazan physicians trained in Israeli hospitals, on the most objective level, the population in Gaza City has grown from 117423 in 1967 to 778187 in 2023. If Israel is trying to increase morbidity and mortality, she is doing a very poor job of it.
Despite this, no one would deny the intolerable living conditions of Gaza residents. Indeed, since Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip, they have done everyt...
Show MoreConflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 21 November 2023Addressing 'root causes'
The article "Violence in Palestine demands immediate resolution of its settler colonial root causes" presents a highly partial view of history. In the midst of appalling suffering and loss of life in Gaza and Israel, some simple truths need to be reiterated.
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Jewish people were indigenous to the region for millennia before the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. In the preceding century, in the face of increasing persecution elsewhere in the world many more Jews concluded that they needed their own national home and made their way to Ottoman-controlled Palestine. This reached a crescendo with the European Holocaust. The fleeing Jews had just as much right to live in Ottoman-controlled and then British mandate controlled Palestine as anyone else. After the establishment of the State of Israel, many hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced to leave the Arab and Iranian world and sought refuge in Israel.[1] The article’s glib description of this complex and traumatic history as ‘settler colonialism’ is incorrect. The nebulous call in the title for ‘the resolution’ of such historical ‘root causes’ is hard to interpret and leaves open the possibility of meaning anything from mass psychological therapy to the end of Israel as a state.
It is informative to note several other ‘root causes’ that are mischaracterised. Contrary to the article's suggestion, and as a further matter of historical record, Israel was invaded by its neighbours in 1948 after...Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 20 November 2023Response of the Editor-in-Chief regarding the publication of this editorial
BMJ Global Health has served as a platform for highlighting the global forces that underpin inequities in health and wellbeing everywhere in the world. The journal has published similar articles in relation to wars and conflicts, and in doing so have consistently privileged the voices, needs, experiences, and perspectives those who are marginalised in those wars and conflicts. As with many other manuscripts submitted for consideration as editorials, this article, although unsolicited, was published with only internal peer review. As we have consistently done with papers published in the journal, we welcome rebuttals, contestations, and alternative interpretations. Some of these are being included as online 'rapid response' comments. In time, others will be published in the journal and on our blog.
Those of us who do global health have a responsibility to respect the dignity of people and communities who are marginalised as knowers, and to represent their interpretations of their own reality. The article is in fulfillment of that responsibility. To be socially/politically marginalised is to be interpretively (or hermeneutically) marginalised; or to have interpretations from one's standpoint under-represented in the collective pool of legitimised knowledge. For every complex reality, there may be multiple and even competing interpretations. Our responsibility as a field must include allowing space in our heads and on knowledge platforms for that multip...
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The author is the Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Global Health - Published on: 16 November 2023Informing Without Prejudice: Responsible Reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The overarching problem with this editorial is not only what is written, but also what is not.
The evidence cited presents a one-sided, revisionist version of events. The article has no reference to Hamas, terrorist attacks, hostages or executions. Nor does it reference the use of human shields, storage of weapons around health facilities, diversion of humanitarian aid for militant use or the prevention of population movement to safer areas. It doesn’t acknowledge the geopolitical landscape, especially the role of neighbouring Arab countries and Iran. The language used is inflammatory; demonising Israel while granting all other actors a 100-year-history of immunity.
The article criticises Israel for warning Palestinian civilians to move away from areas that will come under bombardment. This is the opposite of indiscriminate violence, as accused by the authors, and in accordance with interpretations of international humanitarian law (IHL) [1]. There’s no reference to allegations of Hamas demanding civilians remain in northern Gaza, their alleged attacks on the safe routes out, nor their extensive network of tunnels used for miliary activities and not permitted for civilian shelter [2]. While these conflicting narratives may be unpalatable to the authors it doesn’t excuse their decision to ignore them.
The closing argument reduces this complex historical conflict to right versus wrong, with Israel the only villain. Israel does hold blame, but this is al...
Show MoreConflict of Interest:
The author has written this article in a personal capacity. The author is a specialist advisor to Médecins Sans Frontières, supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza. The author has family in Iran and Israel. A 23-year-old relative of the author was murdered in the October 7th Hamas attacks. - Published on: 16 November 2023“The heart of justice is truth telling”
As of November 10, 2023, more than half of Gaza’s hospitals and nearly three-quarters of Gaza’s primary care clinics are not functioning (as reported by Al Jazeera, CNN, and others). At least 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s ongoing indiscriminate assault and complete blockade. Among those killed, at least 4,500 have been children. Over 27,000 people have been injured, including more than 8,600 children, while another 1,500 children remain missing (see also: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02407-8). Many, many more will suffer life-altering physical and mental effects following this conflict. The WHO’s Director General, The United Nations’s Secretary General, the entire country of Bolivia, over 1,000 USAID staff, over 3,000 global health professionals, and millions upon millions of citizens around the world are denouncing this violence as unjustifiable, inhumane, and abhorrent.
The WHO and several UN agencies, among many others, have called attention to the catastrophic health consequences the closure of health facilities, murder of health care providers, and incessant bombardment of all civilian infrastructure is having and will continue to have on Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people, nearly half of whom are younger than 18. Without essentials such as fuel, food, potable water, electricity, and medicines, infectious diseases will spread and malnutrition will worsen; al...
Show MoreConflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 16 November 2023Unilateral opinion sharing paves the way to further escalation
We read with increasing surprise and disgust the editorial by Smith J et al regarding the war in Israel.1 It represents an extremely one-sided opinion, without taking into account the facts that happened, nor past history. We are medical doctors, in our case oncologists, sworn not to harm, fighting for human lives, and dedicating ourselves to accompany our patients - in some cases for months and even longer - striving for cure, and if not possible to relieve pain and maintain quality of life. In this, we do not distinguish between gender, age, culture, religion, skin colour, sexual preference, geography and we definitely should not be dealing with politics. Therefore, we were extremely shocked that a medical journal like BMJ publishes such an inappropriate letter.
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On 7 October 2023, the terrorist group Hamas carried out a surprise attack on Israel, brutally murdering 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 200, beheading babies, murdering children and elderly, without distinction as to age, gender or nationality. This was acknowledged formally by the UK Prime Minister, as well as by other world leaders, based on cruel but validated evidence. Only a small part of the gruesome information was released, out of respect for the victims and the relatives, and only after this was deemed unavoidable in order to react to unbalanced and even fake information. Many Israeli citizens from the ruthless Hamas attack are still missing and many bodies or body parts cannot be identified...Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 10 November 2023Dr
Dear team at BMJ Global Health
Re: Violence in Palestine demands immediate resolution of its settler colonial root causes.
I came across the above article today in the BMJ which I have really appreciated as it brings to light the ongoing burden on human life and health from colonialism in current times.
My thoughts are with all striving healthcare colleagues on the ground and with those that have lost their lives in Palestine and Israel trying to serve those most at need. I am very saddened by the ongoing loss of lives to the extent of healthcare workers not being spared by the occupying IDF regime. It is truly a dark time for humanity but this article being published gives added hope in human resilience and unity when standing for human suffering and adversity regardless of faith, culture or race.Thank you once again to all those who have spoken out about the atrocities in Palestine and demanding immediate resolution of its settler colonial root causes.
Kind regards
Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 9 November 2023Israel/Palestine: BMJ should encourage dialogue, not fuel hatred
Re your editorial, Smith et al.Violence in Palestine
My late father had a life subscription to the BMJ, so I read your journal every week for over 40 years. In all these years I have never read an article so one-sided as Smith et al's.
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I am an Israeli who does not approve of her government's bombing of Gaza. Even though the Israeli army has notified people in Gaza of its plans to bomb their cities beforehand, many innocent people have been killed, which is appalling. The survivors, like the authors of the paper, will now hate us even more.
But this must be put in context. Just as the 1948 Nakba, which involved the displacement of thousands of Palestinians, was preceded by attacks on the new state of Israel (whose foundation was approved by the United Nations) by the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt, so the bombing of Gaza was preceded by an attack by Hamas terrorists, who did not warn their potential victims, but deliberately burned families alive, maimed and killed children in front of their parents and parents in front of their children and took hundreds of hostages. I myself was present on Kibbutz Sa’ad on the Gaza border on 7th October when all this happened, although thank God I did not witness these barbarities. But I did spend the day under repeated Hamas rocket attacks, and one rocket landed on a house less than 50 yards from me. We too were not warned beforehand of these attacks.
The paper was also biased in that it repo...Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 9 November 2023Editor fails basic peer review
Hello Editors
I am concerned about an article that doesn't happen to have the peer review process one associates with the BMJ journals. The article 'Violence in Palestine demands an immediate resolution of its settler-colonial root causes' by James Smith et. al.,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014269, is cited as having had internal rather than external peer review.
Given the significant potential for hidden and overt bias in this type of emotion-seeking article, particularly as stated in the competing interests of the authors, how is the BMJ group able to ensure that the internal peer review provided a balanced and unbiased review? Why was the accepted practice of obtaining external peer review by experts in the field not undertaken?Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 9 November 2023Please amend or remove due to unbiased and unsubstantiated claims with inaccuracies.
i have already written the editors of BMJ, they claimed correction was made about the fact that it was written that there was a a missile attack by Israel on Al-Ahli hospital. why do the authors not say it was a misfired missile by a terrorist group inside of Gaza? why are the authors not seeking to describe what happened on October 7th in Israel when Hamas terrorists murdered children, women, raped, beheaded , burned alive countless people in an atrocious attack inside of Israel. is it because they are dead so medical care wont help them anymore? Why don't the authors mention or speak out against those acts? why are the authors not asking for care for the 240 Israeli hostages, for the red-crescent to be allowed to check on them? there are women, children, elderly and civilians among them as well. why are the authors not describing the fact that many hospitals and educational facilities are used as hiding grounds for terrorists and their weapons? why are they not reprimanding them for not allowing civilians from Gaza to move to safer areas due to them being used and human shields? for the sake of a science there is a need not to ignore all data and information and only show one side of things. urge you to remove this paper from your platform or demand amendments to it that showcase both sides in an leveled manner as it seems very biased and unscientific .
Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 9 November 2023Violence in Gaza demands objective editorial in BMJ GH
I feel I must write to object very strongly to this totally biased and inaccurate article that you have the audacity to publish in a journal which presents itself as a serious and scientific online journal. In reality, for £1,500 it is open to individuals who hold an academic position to present a political diatribe that reflects their personal view point.
Even the title is inaccurate; the suggestion that Israel is a colonial power is one that is a popular image but not true. Over half the population live there because their families were displaced from hostile North African and Arab countries.
I note that the article was accepted for publication on 18th October 2023 yet contains reference to events on 19th October. This suggests that the article was actually altered after acceptance for publication which strikes me as a rather dubious practice.
Not surprisingly the article fails to condemn the indescribably brutal attacks by Hamas on 7th October. By so doing it allows the authors to make the misleading statement that ‘it is impossible to divorce the violence of recent days from the long history of Israeli occupation of Palestine’. This statement is both provocative and misleading. The current war in Gaza is a direct consequence of the events of 7th October. It is unlikely that there would have been any bombings in Gaza, other than misdirected Hamas missiles, had the Hamas attack not taken place. The retaliation from Israel would have been anticipate...
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None declared. - Published on: 9 November 2023Outright anti-semitic racism and poor quality piece that should never have got through the BMJ's editorial process
(submitted to the editor on 24-10-23)
To: BMJ Global Health
Dear team.
1) Are you aware that the first author of this article which you have published, recently tweeted a view that is widely understood to call for the destruction of Israel? I.e. destruction of the whole of the Jewish State? *
2) This article is littered with racist propaganda, libellous accusations and is frequently factually incorrect. I am surprised it got past your due diligence and editorial processes. I do not doubt that you will already have been contacted about objectionable and poor content.
3) It will likely cause irreparable damage to your reputation as a journal and immeasurable hurt to our Jews and Israelis.
4) I strongly suggest that the article is retracted, and a formal unconditional apology, without caveats, conditions or conflation, is published by the journal and similarly by the authors.
5) Any GMC registered doctor holding and publicising such views is likely to be falling short of the standards expected of them. It may also be a criminal offence.
The decision to give such people a platform to share their poor work and racist views devalues your journal. I am most disappointed.
Dr Farhad Cooper
GMC 6150030*I attached here, in my letter to the editor a) a copy of the author's tweet and b)an explanation of it's widely understood genocidal meaning
Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 9 November 2023Misleading
This is a point by point rebuttal of the editorial.
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1. The text starts with stating 100 years of occupation of Palestine. It should be clear that Israel was established in 1948 following a UN partition. Occupation of the West back and Gaza commenced in 1967, 56 years ago as stated later on in the article.
2. The article states:” The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that at least 3785 people are known to have been killed in besieged Gaza, 79 people killed in the occupied West Bank and 1400 people killed in Israel over the course of 12 days, since 7 October 2023.” This is misleading information without giving context. 1400 Israelis were butchered, slaughtered, burned alive and mutilated by Hamas, a terrorist organization. Israel has the right to defend itself against these brutal attacks. Israel is asking people in the Gaza strip to leave areas that are about to be bombed, however Hamas is holding more than 1 million Palestinians hostage and use them as human shields by preventing them from leaving their homes. This terrorist act of Hamas against its fellow Palestinians greatly effects the number of casualties in Gaza. This is overlooked in your article.
3. The article states: “30% of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable”. This is also misleading with out the background. Hamas is using heavy populated areas, hospitals, mosques, and apartment buildings for its military op...Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 9 November 2023I’m support of this article
I am writing to you as a midwife working within the NHS to voice my
gratitude and support of the recent editorial published by yourselves:
‘Violence in Palestine demands immediate resolution of its settler
colonial root causes’. As a healthcare worker I am horrified and
appalled by the breaching of international law by Israel and the
ongoing genocide in Gaza, and violence in the West Bank. My own union
and professional body, the Royal College of Midwives, have declined to
comment or release a statement leaving me feeling isolated and
unsupported. This editorial, and it having been published by the BMJ Global Health,
has offered vital personal support at this challenging time.
Additionally it’s the human rights and evidence based approach that I
value within healthcare, and is a beautiful representation to the
wider community that healthcare workers seek justice, equity and
inclusion through the provision of healthcare services.Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 8 November 2023Sincere representation of the current situation on the ground
Reading this article, I wish to convey my profound appreciation for its content. It was received with great favour, and I found it to be a sincere representation of the current situation on the ground, renewing my faith in humanity.
Furthermore, I would like to extend my gratitude for your courageous stance on this matter. I recognize that the topic is highly complex, and your editorial decisions may subject you to political pressures or potential backlash from certain interest groups or political parties.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 2 November 2023nothing evidence based here
In this era of evidence based medicine, a BMJ Global Health editorial
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should be based on evidence more than opinions. Most if not all of the
contributors to this article have links to the Palestinians.
1/ if the root of the violence are settlers, then let`s correct your
misinterpretation of historical facts. 90% of the Palestinians are
settlers and have come from neighboring Arab states, especially since
the end of the 19th century when Israelis developed the country and
new job opportunities were created.
See for example https://jpn01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wik...
"During the first half of the 19th century, there were several waves
of immigration from Egypt to Palestine. They favored settling in
already established localities. There used to be 19 villages in the
southern coastal plains and near Ramla with families of Egyptian
descent, and to this day, some villages in the northern parts of the
region of Samaria, especially the...Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 2 November 2023Root Colonial Causes: A Comment on the Moral Standards of BMJ
Drs. Smith, Kwong, Hanbali, Neilson, and Khoury are alarmed by "the latest escalation in "Occupied Palestine", calling for an immediate resolution of its "settler-colonial root causes". While the paper at issue seems timely, its very timeliness – the fact that it intervenes in a loaded conflict literally in the heat of the fighting – calls for meticulous editorial standards, expected in all cases and mandatory in this instance.
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Unfortunately, it is clear that the paper's treatment by the BMJ did not meet these – nor any other acceptable – standards. The basis for the claims made here is lacking. Primary facts are missing, vital points are baseless, and others are outright lies. Given the high sensitivity and responsibility needed, one wonders if this paper fits the professionalism and scientific standards that BMJ claims to cultivate. BMJ's willingness to breach these standards is alarming.
Crucial facts overlooked: The authors note events occurring in Gaza between the 7th and the 15th of October, reporting the death of Palestinian health workers while ignoring crucial events that happened on October 7th. The following points require the immediate attention and action of BMJ readership:
1. Over 3000 Palestinians crossed the border to Israel, butchered more than 1400 people, including babies, children, and elders in their beds, raped young teenagers dancing at an outdoor party, and burned villages and whole communities (1...Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 30 October 2023Healthcare workers and intstitutions must be protected
This article contains essential reading. I have worked in humanitarian support for palliative care in Gaza for almost a decade. The medical and clinical staff work under extreme resource constraints and difficulty as they try to offer high quality healthcare to the people of Gaza even before this terrible outbreak of hostilities. Up to 60% of essential medicines are not available and, in my own speciality area, almost no oral morphine is available for cancer pain....can you imagine the suffering? This is all due to the seige conditions over 17years in Gaza. I have also never worked with such values orientated, compassionate, skilled colleagues who seek to serve their people in such dfficult circumstances.
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As my Gaza colleague, Dr Khamis Elessi, said 'we condem the killing of all civilians, including in Israel, but punish those who are responsible and not innocent civilians' . As the UN Chief, Antonio Guterres recently stated 'The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.'
We must hear and act on the reality of the barage on our fellow health care workers and settings. Thus far, reported by OCHA, 103 clinical staff have been killed from all areas of healthcare. These represent some of the most senior and skilled and some of those with the most promise for the future. 76 attacks are recorded by WHO on 35...Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 27 October 2023Dr Ann Robinson
A compassionate and balanced editorial would also have expressed sadness and regret for the massacres of Israeli citizens including babies that triggered this current situation. Doctors who fail to recognise our common humanity are not worthy of our profession.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 27 October 2023Excellent summary of the context to the current flare-up of violence in the Middle East.
The authors and the editors at BMJ GH should be greatly commended for producing such an honest and informative piece about the context and background to the current flare-up of violence in Palestine. I hope they are able to stay firm, true to their convictions, and withstand the backlash they will inevitably receive from some of their employers/affiliated institutions. Taking a stand for an oppressed and largely voiceless people with little agency is always the right thing to do.
Kind regards,
Osman A Dar
Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 27 October 2023Dr Ann Robinson
Humanitarian crises require a response that demonstrates compassion and concern for all concerned. This editorial failed to do that. If doctors cannot acknowledge the suffering of all humanity, what hope is there? I despair.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared. - Published on: 26 October 2023The roots of the Israeli Palestinian conflict
The recent war that was forced on Israel by war criminals who committed war crimes killing hundreds of children, women (including pregnant women), and octogenarians, youngsters in a peace festival, whose only crime was that they dreamed to live in harmony and peace with the people of Gaza. The civilians who live in the Kibbutzim near Gaza believed for dozens of years that peace and cooperation are feasible with their neighbors who live in Gaza. They were murdered brutally, cutting arms and legs of children and women while they were alive begging for some mercy or burning them alive.
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The state of Israel was under the British Mandate from 1917 till 1948. Before that the Turkish Empire ruled the whole region starting in 1516. The state of Israel was born in 1948, with a United Nations partition plan for Palestine with a clear statement that the land will be shared between Jews and Arabs. The Arabs refused to accept the UN decision and opened a war, with a clear declaration to kill all the Jews who arrived to Israel after escaping the horrors of the Holocaust. The Jews had no option but to fight back and they won the war against all odds (even though they were numerically inferior). The Arabs who ran away became refugees.
This is the true and the only story. Instead of focusing on development of science, education, industry, medicine and tourism, the people of Gaza decided to be led like sheep by Iran who is using them for its own geopolitical ambitions.
Afte...Conflict of Interest:
None declared.