Medical journal blamed for Gaza coverage
One of the world’s oldest and most venerable medical journals has come under heavy pressure over its coverage of the humanitarian disaster caused by the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The Lancet and its editor, Richard Horton, have been targeted by an international group of 500 doctors over what the group claims is the “grossly irresponsible misuse for political purposes”.
The controversy was sparked by an article deemed to be critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Observers say it is the most serious threat to The Lancet and free speech in academia since it was founded 192 years ago.
“It’s very unsatisfactory that these medics have criticized the Lancet. I would have full confidence in the editorial board of the Lancet, and it has had a very long history of being impartial, and appropriate,” Dublin-based Professor of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Prof. Damian McCormack told Press TV.
He emphasized that Lancet and all medics have responsibility to comment on issues which involve or overlap with political issues, adding: “If there is wrongdoing then I think medics must speak up about it.”
McCormack referred to Israel’s war on Gaza and called it unacceptable and said Israeli propaganda lobbyists would be unhappy with that, and so be it but the lancet’s behavior was quite appropriate.
He said the tone of the letter to the lancet reveals the fact that the pro-Israeli lobbies were involved with the criticism.
“The language was too aggressive. It was not the moderate language of concerned medics, and it was more propagandist language,” he said.
He said the pressure is part of a larger plan to suppress freedom of speech within the medical community, and within the Lancet specifically, and it should be resisted.
“We all have the right to speak our minds in a democracy and medics cannot be told that they cannot have a political opinion. It is not contrary to the principles of medical neutrality that medics speak up against violence or aggression,” he said.
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