Open Letter for the People in Gaza—more Than a Military Conflict

We too are doctors and scientists who are deeply saddened by the loss of life and human suffering occurring in Gaza and Israel. We are concerned with an apparent oversight in the process leading to the publication of this open letter in The Lancet.1Manduca P Chalmers I Summerfield D Gilbert M Ang S An open letter for the people in Gaza.Lancet. 2014; 384: 397-398Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (49) Google Scholar Some of its leading authors have important conflicts of interest that are not consistent with their declaration of no competing interests. Swee Ang is founding trustee of Medical Aid for Palestinians and Mads Gilbert is a representative of the pro-Palestinian Norwegian Aid Committee, both organisations are hostile to Israel.2Medical Aid for PalestiniansWho we are.http://www.map-uk.org/who-we-are/who-we-areGoogle Scholar, 3NGO MonitorDr. Mads Gilbert: exploiting medicine for propaganda and hate.http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/dr_mads_gilbert_exploiting_medicine_for_propaganda_and_hateGoogle Scholar, 4NGO MonitorNorwegian NGO Funding: Peace and Coexistence, or Boycotts and Apartheid Retoric.http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/norwegian_ngo_funding_peace_and_coexistence_or_boycotts_and_apartheid_rhetoric_Google Scholar, 5NGO MonitorMedical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/medical_aid_for_palestinians_map_Google Scholar The Lancet's declaration of interest policy states that “A conflict of interest exists when professional judgement concerning a primary interest (such as patients' welfare or validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain).” The authors' participation in highly political non-governmental organisations dependent on fundraising constitutes both an ideological and financial conflict of interest requiring disclosure. In their Comment,6Davidoff F DeAngelis CD Drazen JM et al.Sponsorship, authorship, and accountability.Lancet. 2001; 358: 854-856Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (140) Google Scholar “Sponsorship, authorship, and accountability”, Frank Davidoff and colleagues (editors of general medical journals) stressed that “Authorship means both accountability and independence”. The letter's signatories are entitled to their opinion. But the authors fail to disclose their affiliations, such that readers cannot judge their independence as allegedly objective clinicians and scientists. Finally, we utterly reject the suggestion that the 95% of Israeli academics who have not signed an appeal7AnonAn Open Letter to Israel Academics, July 13th, 2014.http://haimbresheeth.com/gaza/an-open-letter-to-israel-academics-july-13th-2014/Google Scholar opposing their government are somehow “complicit” in what the authors called “the massacre and destruction of Gaza.”1Manduca P Chalmers I Summerfield D Gilbert M Ang S An open letter for the people in Gaza.Lancet. 2014; 384: 397-398Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (49) Google Scholar Some might not agree with all of the text in the written appeal, others might not have seen it, and many of our Israeli colleagues are in bomb shelters as rockets are sent from Gaza targeting civilians of all faiths. TB is co-chair and CMB is former co-chair of the Young Health division at United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto, a Jewish philanthropic organisation that supports Israel. Both TB and CMB help fundraise for the organisation. CMB sits on the Board of Directors and helps fundraise for the Canadian Friends of Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem that treat all patients irrespective of race, religion, country of origin, or financial circumstances. The other authors declare no competing interests. Download .pdf (.34 MB) Help with pdf files Supplementary appendix An open letter for the people in GazaWe are doctors and scientists, who spend our lives developing means to care and protect health and lives. We are also informed people; we teach the ethics of our professions, together with the knowledge and practice of it. We all have worked in and known the situation of Gaza for years. Full-Text PDF