Education

EXCLUSIVE: Watchdog Demands Medical Schools Not Comply With ‘Antisemitic’ Rule

A pro-Israeli counter protestor holds up a sign as demonstrators gather outside of Columbia University to demand a ceasefire and the end of Israeli attacks on Gaza, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, during a protest in New York, U.S., April 20, 2024. REUTERS/Adam Gray

Medical watchdog group Do No Harm sent letters to every U.S. medical school on Wednesday demanding that they not comply with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations’ (IFMSA) “blatantly antisemitic” suspension of an Israeli student group.

IFMSA suspended the Federation of Israeli Medical Students (FIMS) in August claiming the group had “a lack of morals and humanitarian values” in reference to the Israel-Hamas war, according to Israeli news outlet Ynet.Do No Harm warned medical schools that implementing the IFMSA’s suspension of FIMS would violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, according to the letters obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Our organizations and our membership are concerned about rising antisemitism and discrimination in medical education in the United States,” the letters read. “Discrimination against Jews, Israelis, or those associated with Israeli medical institutions is never justified, regardless of your political viewpoints.”

The IFMSA, which represents more than 1.5 million medical students and spans over 100 countries, suspended FIMS for two years over alleged “hate speech” and said others should “refrain from spreading misinformation regarding this decision,” according to an August press release. IFMSA’s decision was “based on blatantly antisemitic factors,” including “false accusations of ‘genocide’ denial, the fact that members of the Israeli medical students’ organization serve in the Israeli military, the presence of students from a Jewish university” and “the overall struggle of the Palestinian medical students’ organization,” Do No Harm said.

Do No Harm’s letters urged the medical schools to provide written confirmation by Oct. 15 that “no programs, research, collaborations, conferences, fellowship opportunities, scholarships, publications or any other function . . . will be limited, curtailed, suspended or otherwise impacted for Jewish students, Israeli students, or anyone affiliated with Israeli medical institutions.”

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Former president Donald Trump issued an executive order in 2019 that declared the rule would be enforced in cases of antisemitism “as vigorously as any other discrimination.”

“Medical schools must not help IFMSA perpetrate this antisemitic injustice against Israeli students,” Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Any school doing this will be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and will be held accountable.”

Several universities have been under fire for alleged antisemitism since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, with New York University (NYU) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) facing lawsuits over their apparent failure to protect Jewish students. House Republicans recently accused Harvard University of “willfully obstructing” an investigation into an assault on a Jewish student.

IFMSA did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.