First, Do No Harm. Second, Do No Bigotry

There's a fabulous opinion piece in the Hamilton Spectator written by Dr. Paul Ranalli. Paul (I can call him that because I've been to his home) is a brilliant neuro-ophthalmologist who, in his spare time, likes to write letters to the editor; you may have seen his "byline" in such papers as the Globe and Mail and the National Post. He is also an ardent supporter of Israel. I was blown away by his piece in the Spec, an excoriation of medical professionals, both here and abroad, who think it's okay--who think it demonstrates their "virtue" bona fides, in fact--to discriminate against the Jewish State:

...In the medical profession today, we could be atheist or agnostic, or be Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu or Sikh physicians of various degrees of orthodoxy, and our patients reflect this same mix. Our common enemy is disease, and we help each other run it out of town, if we can.

But anti-semitism in the medical profession is out there in the world. The Congo incident is not isolated. A distinct bias against Israel is all too evident in the selection and tone of certain articles that reach publication in some fairly high-ranking medical journals. There are medical conferences in the Middle East where Israeli physicians are barred from attending. In a field where sharing the latest knowledge and skills can only help bring the next cure for your loved one closer, how can this kind of discrimination be justified?

The question is rhetorical: It can’t. And, to ensure it does not triumph, I set aside time to work with a group of physicians who strive to hold the profession to the highest standard of equality, and to the crucial free flow of scientific communication. We must meet the high standard of disease itself because, when disease comes, it does not discriminate.

Paul Ranalli is a Toronto neurologist, a Hamilton native and a member of Doctors Against Racism and Anti-semitism (daradocs.org). His article was submitted in support of the efforts of the Never Again Group (nagroup1@gmail.com).