{"id":101113,"date":"2025-10-06T15:49:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T13:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=101113"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:49:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T13:49:23","slug":"sama-severs-ties-with-israeli-medical-association-over-gaza-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/sama-severs-ties-with-israeli-medical-association-over-gaza-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"SAMA Severs Ties with Israeli Medical Association Over Gaza Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a><\/em>
\n3-minute read
\n06 October 2025 | 13:00 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 Dr Zanele Bikitsha on SAMA severing ties with the Israeli Medical Association, standing for medical ethics and protection of healthcare workers in Gaza.<\/p><\/div>\n

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has officially severed ties with the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), citing grave ethical concerns over Israel\u2019s ongoing military assault on Gaza. The decision includes suspending bilateral relations and requesting the removal of the IMA from global medical platforms, signalling South Africa\u2019s medical community\u2019s condemnation of attacks on healthcare workers and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Dr Zanele Bikitsha, Vice Chairperson of SAMA, explained the rationale during an interview with Radio Islam International.<\/em><\/a> \u201cAs medics, we have engaged with doctors on the ground in Gaza and have received alarming reports regarding attacks on medical personnel, detainees, and hospitals,\u201d she said. \u201cThese actions violate the ethical principles we uphold, which transcend gender, religion, and nationality. It became clear that continuing our professional relationship was untenable.\u201d<\/p>\n

SAMA has outlined specific conditions for resuming relations with the IMA. These include: the release of detained medical teams, public condemnation of attacks on hospitals and clinics, immediate restoration of blocked emergency aid, including food and medicine, and ensuring that all detainees, Palestinian and Israeli, receive adequate medical care. \u201cWe want the IMA to actively advocate for safety and medical access in conflict zones,\u201d Dr Bikitsha emphasised.<\/p>\n

In a parallel move, SAMA withdrew from the Taipei Working Group, which oversees ethical standards for medical research, including new guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence and specimens. \u201cWe cannot ethically participate in a group chaired by an association implicated in attacks on healthcare,\u201d Dr Bikitsha explained. \u201cThis decision is not a withdrawal from the World Medical Association itself, but a necessary ethical stance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vice Chairperson also highlighted the broader implications of the Gaza conflict for global medical ethics. \u201cHospitals, ambulances, and clinics have traditionally been safe zones in conflict. The attacks in Gaza show that no space is off-limits, which puts both patients and clinicians at unprecedented risk,\u201d she said. \u201cThis could deter health professionals from volunteering in conflict zones, undermining humanitarian medical support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Bikitsha clarified that SAMA\u2019s decision is grounded in ethical principles, not politics. \u201cWe are pro-humanitarian, pro-medical ethics, and anti-war in any form. Our stance is about protecting patients and healthcare workers, and ensuring the sanctity of medical neutrality in conflict zones.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decisive action by SAMA underscores growing international concern about the treatment of medical personnel in war zones and sets a benchmark for ethical accountability in global medical associations.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> <\/a>with Annisa Essack and Dr\u00a0Zanele Bikitsha, Vice Chairperson of SAMA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 06 October 2025 | 13:00 CAT The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has officially severed ties with the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), citing grave ethical concerns over Israel\u2019s ongoing military assault on Gaza. The decision includes suspending bilateral relations and requesting the removal of the IMA from global medical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":101114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SAMA-cuts-ties-with-IMA.jpg?fit=400%2C358&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qiR","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 18:32:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}