Op-Eds

Doctors Without Borders Condemns Israel, Ignores Hamas War Crimes, Yona Schiffmiller, The Algemeiner, September 27, 2015

Yona Schiffmiller argues that, contrary to its stated purpose as an international humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders has repeatedly violated its pledge of neutrality and engaged in anti-Israel political warfare.

Mads Gilbert and the Theatre of the Absurd, Gerald Steinberg, The Jerusalem Post, June 24, 2015

The latest “report” on Israel produced by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) includes a list of four “experts” with whom the two commissioners and their staffs consulted. One of them is Dr. Mads Gilbert, a full-time propagandist from Norway who exploits medicine to promote hate. He has blamed the 9/11 terror attacks in the US on the “policy that the West has led during the last decades,” and asserted that “the oppressed also have a moral right to attack the USA with any weapon they can come up with.”

World Health Organization Blames Israel for Palestinian Ills, Yona Schiffmiller, The Times of Israel, June 21, 2015

An assessment of Palestinian health is a reasonable task for the WHO to carry out.  To do so effectively, however, the organization must base their analyses on facts and not contrived NGO distortions, admit Palestinian abuses of medical infrastructure and vehicles, and remain focused on the core issues of health without veering off to launch political attacks against unrelated Israeli policies.  To do otherwise is to allow the world of medicine to be hijacked by those seek to transform it into an arena for anti-Israel propaganda.

Naming and Shaming: How Medicine is Used to Promote Demonization of Israel, Yona Schiffmiller, JNS, May 5, 2015

Some of the main antagonists in the political war against Israel are under increasing counter-pressure. For instance, the British medical journal The Lancet and its editor, Richard Horton, have been accused by hundreds of doctors of violating ethical standards. In response, Horton’s allies are attempting to silence the detailed criticism as an “assault on free speech.” This counter-attack, which is taking place in traditional and social media channels, glosses over The Lancet’s long track record and central role in demonizing Israel by exploiting medical frameworks.

Medicine in the Service of Anti-Zionism, Yitzhak Santis, Ynet, January 20, 2015

As a scientific medical journal, The Lancet is in a unique position to play a constructive and positive role not only in improving the healthcare of Palestinians, but also contributing to the prospects of peace by building bridges between the Israeli and Palestinian medical communities. By taking such a highly politicized and one-sided course in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Lancet, under Richard Horton’s tutelage, has instead contributed to polarization and conflict.

The Strange Story of the Lancet Editor and Israel, Gerald M. Steinberg, The Canadian Jewish News, November 4, 2014

…the pressure must continue until Horton, the Lancet, and Elsevier (the publisher) issue clear apologies, retract the hate-filled articles that were never worthy of publication, and create mechanisms to prevent a recurrence.

More broadly, in fighting the unethical demonization of Israel and the new anti-Semitism, this case demonstrates the importance of naming and shaming the perpetrators. By exposing the role of the Lancet in this unethical behaviour, we have shown that success is possible.

Physician, Heal Thyself, Yitzhak Santis, The Jerusalem Report, October 20, 2014

…Horton has but one moral option – to remove the stain these doctors of hate have brought on The Lancet. To do so, he must apologize, retract their Gaza letter (and all their other articles), and decouple The Lancet institutionally from groups associated with them, like MAP. Anything less would be tantamount to moral medical malpractice that will blemish The Lancet for decades.

Richard Horton’s War on Israel, Gerald M. Steinberg, The Jerusalem Post, September 29, 2011

Some mistakes can be corrected, some crimes can be forgiven, and some apologies can be accepted. But not in this case; damage from chronic and hate-filled political warfare is irreversible. [Editor of The Lancet medical journal Richard] Horton has been irrevocably named and shamed; if he does not resign, it is up to the publisher, the global Reed Elsevier Group, to do the right thing.

The Lancet’s Indefensible Defense of Antisemitic David Duke Promoters, Yitzhak Santis, The Times of Israel, September 10, 2014

That these authors have been peddling in antisemitic conspiracy theories is clearly substantiated. But there is no sign that Horton will take the moral step of distancing himself and The Lancet from them, remove the “Open Letter” from The Lancet’s website, and apologize to The Lancet’s readers and the medical community.

Exploiting Medicine for the Politics of Hate, Eliana Trink, JNS.org, August 14, 2014

The [Lancet] letter—written by Drs. Mads Gilbert, Paola Manduca, and Swee Ang, all of whom are associated with highly politicized non-governmental organizations (NGOs)—accuses Israel of carrying out a propaganda campaign that “justifies the creation of an emergency to masquerade a massacre.” It makes unfounded allegations that Israel deliberately massacred civilians and uses illegal weaponry. No mention is made of Hamas, or its use of human shields. Israel’s right and obligation to defend its citizens against indiscriminate targeting by rocket fire is absent.

Doctors for Terrorism, Gerald M. Steinberg, Israel Hayom, August 10, 2014 (Also see Hebrew version here)

The Lancet is a seemingly prestigious medical journal published in London. But behind the respectable façade hides support for Hamas and blood libel against Jews. Editor-in-Chief Richard Horton has long been accused of using medical ethics as a pretext to advance unethical interests, like the publication of the recent “Open letter for the people of Gaza” (July 23, 2014). This letter ignores the Israeli victims of rockets and terror tunnels, and refers to Israel’s defense efforts as war crimes committed “under the pretext of eliminating terrorism.” This is just another example of the deadly campaign that uses the prestige attributed to the medical profession as a weapon of hatred and war.

Medical Aid that Spreads Pacifism and Nurtures Antisemitism, Giovanni Matteo Quer, The Huffington Post, October 20, 2014 (original in French)

Correspondence

Analysis of John Yudkin and Jennifer Leaning in the British Medical Journal, May 12, 2015, Gerald Steinberg and Yona Schiffmiller, BMJ, May 26, 2015

Norwegian Newspaper “VG” Publishes Letter vs. Mads Gilbert Signed by Prominent Doctors, Drs. Cohn, Katz, Zimmet, Pepys, Fink, Sprague, Greenland, Stone, and Cohen, VG (Norway), January 27, 2015 (See here for original in Norwegian).

As medical doctors, we note with dismay the recognition by your newspaper of Dr. Mads Gilbert as “person of the year” for 2014. The description of Dr. Gilbert’s activities is dangerously distorted, making the award highly problematic.

The Whole Truth, Peter Schweitzer, Letter to the Editor of The Jerusalem Post, January 20, 2015

Sir, – It is pertinent to ask of Espen Bjertness (“Jabbing ‘The Lancet,’” Letters, January 18) why, instead of complaining about an alleged attack by NGO Monitor on freedom of speech, he is not prepared to condemn the authors of the open letter published by The Lancet when he knows full well that two of the principal authors were caught red-handed promoting enthusiastically the anti-Semitic video by American white supremacist leader David Duke?

The Whole Truth, Elihu D. Richter, Letter to the Editor of The Jerusalem Post, January 20, 2015

Sir, – Espen Bjertness’s letter supporting Lancet editor Richard Horton cites allegations about Israel’s supposedly negative impact on Palestinian public health – many of them published in that journal. These references recycle Dr. Horton’s statements to prop up a somewhat diluted BDS petition submitted to the American Public Health Association (APHA) in the summer of 2013… The APHA, the leading organization of its kind in the world, heeded warnings that endorsing a resolution based on The Lancet’s papers would undermine the association’s professional credibility and distract and divert it from its true mission – protecting and promoting public health. I invite Dr. Bjertness to join those of us working on joint Israeli-Palestinian projects to promote peace through health, truth and reconciliation and to stop undermining all three.

Responses to The Lancet “Gaza Letter”, August 14, 2014

Offline: People to People, Richard Horton, The Lancet, October 2014

NGO Monitor’s Letter to The Lancet’s parent company, Reed Elsevier Properties, September 1, 2014

It is deeply disturbing that two self-proclaimed human rights activists would share Duke’s racist and antisemitic message. It is all the more alarming that The Lancet would have given such prominence to a letter co-authored by Manduca and Ang who trade in antisemitic conspiracy theories. In light of this new information, we call upon Reed Elsevier Properties to prevail upon The Lancet to take the following steps: retract the “Open Letter,” publicly distance itself immediately from these two physicians, and apologize for publishing their “Open Letter.”

Letter from Dr. Arthur Eidelman to Ombudsman of The Lancet, July 21, 2011

This discussion about quality and reliability of a study which does not meet even the most basic standards of public health and epidemiologic research suggests a failure within the editorial process. It is compounded by the inappropriate pronouncement that these data are consistent with “crimes against humanity”. Judicial analysis is the purview and expertise of proper judicial fora. Such fora are designed to evaluate if data meet the standards of evidence and reliability.  Proper advocacy and defense have to be provided.  A medical Journal lacking this expertise cannot evaluate such serious issues. As ombudsman you must surely believe that it is totally inappropriate for a medical journal such as the Lancet to serve as a platform for such highly charged political conclusions.  Surely to publish a “study” that does not meet even the most minimum scientific standards of a peer reviewed journal, written by an author who has neither medical nor public health expertise, only debases the Lancet standards and reputation as a premier medical journal.

Media

Physicians Heal Thyself and End Your Anti-Israeli Hysteria, Michael Curtis, American Thinker, May 5, 2015

The bias of The Lancet has been astonishing. Since 2009 the disputed territories of the West Bank and Gaza are referred to by LPHA as “occupied Palestinian territory.” According to NGO Monitor, between 2009 and 2014, The Lancet published 66 items on Palestinian health care, most of them political commentary and only a few of which were concerned with medical issues.

Mads Gilbert collaborated with physicians who are in line with neo-Nazi David Duke, His Rustad, Document, January 27, 2015

The nine doctors who criticize VG and Mads Gilbert point out that he is exploiting the situation to promote his own political viewpoint in a fraudulent manner. Gilbert has never balanced criticism of Israel with a criticism of Hamas. Gilbert makes himself a voluntarily hostage for Hamas’ policy.

NGO Monitor Claims Anti-Israel Bias at UK Medical Journal ‘Lancet’, Benjamin Weinthal, The Jerusalem Post, January 11, 2015

The British-based medical journal The Lancet’s treatment of Palestinian public health issues has undermined Israel-Palestinian relations, according to a detailed study published by Jerusalem- based NGO Monitor. The Lancet has set back relations between Israelis and Palestinians “by taking a highly politicized course in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict,” according to the new report, which was obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem Post.

See NGO Monitor’s Report, “The Lancet as a Political Platform for NGOs: Study of Articles on Palestinian and Israeli Health Care 2001-2014“, January 6, 2015.

A Serious Medical Journal Just Went Totally Clinical, Liam Hoare, The Tower, November 2014

…The principal author of the letter was Dr. Paola Manduca, Professor of Genetics at the University of Genoa in Italy. Manduca is a member of the Google group “Sempre Contro la Guerra.” Last month, the Israeli watchdog organization NGO Monitor revealed in an extensive report that Manduca posted an email to the group from Swee Ang that contained a link to a video made by the infamous American white supremacist David Duke.

Lancet ‘hijacked in anti-Israel campaign’, Jake Wallis Simons, The Telegraph, September 22, 2014

NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog, points out that over the past 15 years, the journal has formed a number of partnerships with Palestinian groups, including the Lancet-Palestinian Health Alliance, Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme.

By contrast, there have been no comparable collaborations with Israeli groups.

Leading British medical journal refuses to retract open letter on Gaza written by authors concerned that “Jews control the media, politics and banking”, David Bernstein, The Washington Post, September 22, 2014

NGO Monitor has documented Manduca’s nutty worldview, of which anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are only a start.

Watchdog Group Calls Out ‘The Lancet’ Over Anti-Semitic Video, Conspiracies Its Authors Promoted, Dave Bender, The Algemeiner, September 22, 2014

A Jerusalem-based watchdog group, NGO Monitor, on Monday sharply criticized the British medical journal, The Lancet, over support by two of the authors of An Open Letter for the People of Gaza, published in July, of an anti-Semitic video by white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke…NGO Monitor noted that: on August 14, 2014, Manduca forwarded an email from Ang with the subject line “CNN Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix” to the Italian Google group Sempre Contro la Guerra. The email contains a link to a Duke video of the same title.

Lancet Won’t Retract Gaza Letter Over Revelations About Authors, JTA, September 23, 2014

NGO Monitor, a media watchdog, unearthed emails of Dr. Paola Manduca, a geneticist at the University of Genoa, and Dr. Swee Ang, an orthopedic surgeon, forwarding a video titled “CNN, Goldman Sachs, and the Zio Matrix” in which Duke accuses Jewish banking, media and political figures of conspiring to create “an unholy tribal alliance.” Duke has had ties to the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups. (Also published in the Jewish Daily Forward).

Anti-Israel Article’s Authors Promote Video by Former KKK Leader David Duke, JNS.org. September 23, 2014

According to Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, Dr. Paola Manduca and Dr. Swee Ang—two of the authors of “An open letter for the people of Gaza,” which slams Israel for its conduct last summer’s Operation Protective Edge—shared an email with the subject line “CNN Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix” that included a link to Duke’s video.

Authors of Lancet Gaza Letter Promote Video of Ex-KKK Leader, Justin Jalil, The Times of Israel, September 24, 2014

Dr. Paola Manduca, one of the co-authors of “An open letter for the people in Gaza,” forwarded an email originally written by Dr. Swee Ang, another co-author, to an Italian antiwar group. The email contained a link to a YouTube video uploaded by David Duke entitled “CNN Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix,” according to NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem based group that monitors international non-governmental organizations.

Jew-Centric Conspiracy Theories: Lancet and Urbana-Champaign Editions, William A. Jacobson, Legal Insurrection, September 22, 2014

…Then, NGO Monitor, a group that investigates the anti-Israel Non-Governmental Organization industry, uncovered that two of the physicians involved peddled anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and circulated a David Duke video.

Lancet editor visiting Israel following outcry over anti-Israel letter, JTA, September 30, 2014

“The trip will not provide Horton immunity from the justifiable moral outrage of Israelis, the Jewish community, and medical professionals,” said Yitzhak Santis, an official with the media watchdog NGO Monitor. “Nor will it absolve Horton of his responsibility to correct his politicized, non-scientific editorial distortions. If he cannot do so, he should resign.”

NGO Monitor last week unearthed evidence tying two of the letters’ authors to support for white supremacist David Duke. (See also The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and the Jewish Journal).

The Lancet Editor Relents on Medical Journal’s Unbalanced Attacks on Israel, Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, The Jerusalem Post, October 2, 2014

Asked by The Jerusalem Post to comment on Horton’s “turnaround,” Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of the NGO Monitor organization in Jerusalem and an angry critic of Horton said: “As a long-time and vocal critic of [him,]I was impressed when he announced important steps which, in his words, will mark a new chapter in his and The Lancet’s relationship with Israel. He clearly listened to Israeli voices, and I give him credit for expressing his ‘deep deep regret’ at having published the infamous Manduca letter on Gaza in July, as well as stating that the authors’ promotion of anti-Semitic David Duke material is ‘abhorrent.’”

“Also, the framework for workshops and publications on Israeli medical contributions and the unique cooperation among different sectors of society contrasts with The Lancet’s previous demonization of Israel and emphasis on the Palestinian narrative. In this way, Horton can set an example for others that exploit medical allegations for political warfare and demonization,” said Steinberg, who wrote an anti-Horton oped in the Post this week.

The Lancet Finds a Cure, J-Wire, October 3, 2014

NGO Monitor has issued a statement requesting the removal of the offensive material from The Lancet’s web site.

Lancet Editor ‘Deeply Regrets’ Publishing Gaza Letter, The Times of Israel/JTA, October 2, 2014

Following Horton’s remarks, NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institute which monitors non-governmental organizations, said in a statement that it is “urgent that the July 2014 “An Open Letter for the People of Gaza” be removed from The Lancet’s website and a formal retraction and apology be published prominently, both on the website and the next hard copy issue.”

NGO Monitor also called on The Lancet to “undertake positive initiatives to accurately inform the medical community of Israel’s contributions to medicine, as well as the close cooperation that takes place between different sectors of the population.”

Lancet Editor Apologises For Gaza Article by Scientists Who Promoted Ku Klux Klan, Inna Lazareva, The Telegraph, October 3, 2014

Prof Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor – a Jerusalem-based research institute – which last month published an investigative report about The Lancet’s authors, expressed surprise at Prof Horton’s speech… “I expected when Richard Horton came on Monday to hear a whitewash – to hear from someone trying to save his position, because for many years he has been the centre of a lot of demonisation of Israel through the Lancet and through false medical claims”, he told The Telegraph immediately after the lecture. “What I heard was a changed man, someone who expressed regret – some would say it could have been greater, but the fact that he did this was very important.”

Our World: Israel bashers’ phony contrition, Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post, October 6, 2014

Horton came to Israel last week the guest of Rambam Medical Center in a bid to dig himself out of the hole he dug himself into. On August 19 Horton published a 1,600-word letter criminalizing Israel. In it, Israel was accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The authors called for a boycott of Israel, including Israeli academia. Since its publication on Lancet’s website, the letter has garnered 20,000 signatures.

Immediately following its publication, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, the head of NGO Monitor, exposed that the letter’s principal authors are frothing-at-the-mouth anti-Semites. Dr. Paola Manduca and Dr. Swee Ang disseminated a video entitled, CNN, Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix. It was produced by the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke.

At the end of his three-day visit, Horton gave a lecture at Rambam where he condemned the Cossack-style Jew hatred of his colleagues Ang and Manduca. But despite his seeming contrition, Horton did not disavow their letter. He did not agree to remove the slander from The Lancet’s website.

‘Lancet’ editor sees positive side of Israel in visit, Andrew Tobin, The Times of Israel, October 13, 2014

After Horton’s strident letter, The Lancet was flooded with responses, both for and against the letter, and the journal’s ombudsman launched an investigation. NGO Monitor, a pro-Israel think tank in Jerusalem, revealed that two of the letter’s primary authors have sympathies with the views of David Duke, a white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard… Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor and political scientist at Bar-Ilan University, was skeptical. “I can’t tell whether someone has had a change of heart or not, but certainly for the last eight or 10 years at The Lancet, Horton has been one of the leaders of demonization of Israel,” he said. “Horton came [to Israel] only after NGO Monitor had exposed the connection between the authors of the Gaza letter and white supremacist David Duke. The sequence of events speaks for itself.”

Lancet editor regrets, but does not retract, Gaza letter, JTA/The Times of Israel, October 13, 2014

NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institute that monitors nongovernmental organizations, in a statement called Horton’s editorial “another step towards ending the exploitation of this journal for demonizing Israel,” but said it did not go far enough since it failed to retract or apologize for the publication of the open letter. The group called on Horton to issue a formal retraction and apology and to remove the letter from The Lancet’s website… NGO Monitor unearthed evidence tying two of the letters’ authors to support for David Duke, who circulated a video supporting the white supremacist.

Media Comment: Horton does not hear a who, The Jerusalem Post, October 15, 2014

Much has been written in this newspaper as in most other Israeli media outlets, about the July 28 letter to the editor published in The Lancet under the title “An open letter for the people of Gaza.” As reported in The Jerusalem Post and as researched by NGO Monitor, the central authors of the letter, Paola Manduca, Iain Chalmers, Derek Summerfied, Mads Gilbert and Swee Ang, are not sweet innocents whose only purpose in life is to save lives. But this is not the issue to which we wish to relate.

Lancet editor’s visit to Israel still causing stir, The Jerusalem Post, October 15, 2014

NGO Monitor called on Horton and the journal’s publisher, Elsevier, to “acknowledge their central role in the tendentious activities of the politicized Lancet-Palestinian Health Alliance. This framework gives a central role to Medical Aid for Palestinians, an NGO co-founded by Swee Ang, one of the promoters of the anti-Semitic Duke video and a co-author of the Gaza letter.”

The Norwegian Government Takes a Direct Hand in Supporting and Promoting the Pro-Hamas Book ´Eyes in Gaza´ Into a Bestseller in Norway, Tundra Tabloids, December 24, 2009