SWC Statement on the Suspension of Israeli Students From International Federation of Medical Students' Associations

August 12, 2024

In response to reports that The International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) has suspended the association of Israeli students for two years due to the war in Gaza and accusations of genocide, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean, and Global Social Action Director for the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued the following statement: 

“By punishing Israeli medical students for the crime of ‘genocide’ their government has not committed while remaining silent on actual genocides perpetrated by other governments, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations engages in multiple acts of hypocrisy & discrimination.

Firstly, no medical students anywhere in the world should be punished for the actions of their government.  It seems that only Israeli medical students are held to this invisible standard.  Have medical students from China, which is actively destroying Uyghur culture, or medical students from Iran, whose national policy is the extermination of Israel, been similarly suspended?

Secondly, have any actual or promised genocides been so much as cited, much less criticized by IFMSA? Iran promises a genocide; IFMSA is silent.  China practices genocide; IFMSA is silent.

While pretending to care about the rights of women, IFMSA says nothing of systematic rapes committed by Hamas soldiers against Israeli women that have been independently verified by the UN.  IFMSA says nothing of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, or the use of medical facilities in Gaza as storage depots for weapons & rockets.

Worst of all, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations has corrupted their mission and debased their entire organization by injecting arbitrary, inconsistent & discriminatory politics into the one vocation, medicine, that should be most free of political color.”

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Erik Simon at esimon@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).