The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) strongly condemns the British Medical Association’s (BMA) recent passage of three anti-Israel motions at its annual conference. By straying into divisive political territory, the BMA has undermined its professional integrity and alienated Jewish members at a time when unity in healthcare is needed more than ever.
The resolutions in question, which include attempts to decouple antisemitism from anti-Zionism, endorse public demonstrations and academic campaigns against Israel, and call for the prosecution of Israeli war crimes, represent a deeply skewed and inflammatory approach to an ongoing conflict. They selectively focus on Israel while ignoring the actions of terrorist groups like Hamas, and in doing so, breach the professional obligation of the BMA to maintain neutrality and inclusivity across its membership.
This alarming politicisation of a professional medical body not only distracts from the NHS’s urgent crises – including staff shortages, spiralling waiting lists, and exhausted frontline workers – but also fosters a hostile environment for Jewish medical professionals, some of whom have reported feeling intimidated and unwelcome at the conference. The very forum that is meant to represent and support all doctors has instead allowed itself to become a platform for politically motivated activism under the guise of moral concern.
NJA Vice Chairman Laurence Julius said: “The BMA has abandoned its core responsibilities in favour of grandstanding on foreign affairs it has no mandate or expertise to address. This betrayal of medical neutrality risks eroding public trust in our healthcare system and sends a chilling message to Jewish healthcare professionals that their concerns are secondary to the activist agenda now embedded within the BMA. This is not leadership – it is dereliction.”
The NJA calls on the BMA to urgently reconsider its direction and reaffirm its commitment to professional impartiality, respectful debate, and the wellbeing of all its members – regardless of political persuasion or religious identity. It must return to the business of medicine, not agitprop.
