The Media Review Network (MRN) unequivocally opposes the Discovery Health Conference’s decision to host Israeli medics and representatives at a time when the Israeli state continues its brutal assault on Palestinian hospitals, doctors, and patients. This decision is not only deeply insensitive but also legitimizes a regime responsible for egregious human rights violations and war crimes.
As healthcare professionals and institutions around the world uphold the sacred principle of “do no harm,” it is alarming that Discovery Health would choose to align itself with representatives of a state that has systematically targeted medical facilities, bombed hospitals, and obstructed the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza and the West Bank. The deliberate destruction of medical infrastructure and the killing of healthcare workers in Palestine is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and an affront to the basic tenets of human decency.
The participation of Israeli representatives in this conference serves to whitewash these crimes and presents Israel as a legitimate actor in the global health community. This is a gross misrepresentation of reality and an insult to the countless Palestinian lives lost due to Israel’s barbaric siege and indiscriminate bombing campaigns.
The Media Review Network calls upon Discovery Health to reconsider its decision and immediately disinvite the Israeli representatives. We urge all South Africans, who have themselves overcome a legacy of apartheid, to stand in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine. As a nation that knows the price of silence in the face of injustice, we cannot allow our platforms to be used to normalize oppression and violence.
We reaffirm our commitment to amplifying the voices of the marginalized and exposing the complicity of institutions in perpetuating injustice. South Africa must remain a beacon of resistance against apartheid in all its forms, and this includes standing firmly against Israeli apartheid.
Issued by the Media Review Network
For media inquiries, please contact:
Name: Mariam Jooma Çarikci
Position: Researcher
Phone number: 0822252333
Email: Mariam.jooma@gmail.com
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