Discovery criticised for inviting Israeli speakers to health summit

Medical aid company Discovery has decided to proceed with the upcoming Future of Health (FOH) Summit despite concerns raised about Israeli healthcare providers participating in the gathering.

The FOH Leadership Symposium, hosted by Discovery SA, is scheduled to take place in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Discovery has faced criticism for featuring Israeli speakers, including Oranit Ido, the Executive Director at the Future of Health (FOH).

Discovery criticised

Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, Director at the International Commission of Jurists – Africa (ICJ) said Discovery’s intention to host Israeli healthcare officials was “tone deaf and unconscionable”.

“Discovery hosting a Health Summit with Israeli health care providers while Israel destroys Gaza hospitals is tone deaf and unconscionable. Despite CSO protests Summit will proceed on 19 Nov in Cape Town.”

Ammarah Garda said the “summit sounds innocent enough”.

“The FOH member organisations are diverse, but one that sticks out is ‘Ministry of Health’, that is, the Israeli Ministry of Health.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Pope Francis urges probe into ‘characteristics of genocide’ by Israel in Gaza

“In addition, the programme itself has various Israeli speakers who work at these institutes/centres. The global responsibility to boycott, divest, and sanction includes rejecting collaborations with those who are complicit/work in complicit organisations,” Garda said.

Discovery response

Discovery told The Citizen it acknowledged and appreciated the concerns by some of its stakeholders regarding the upcoming FOH Summit and Leadership Symposium.

“For clarity, the delegates from Israel attending the FOH Summit are administrators and managers of the Sheba Medical Centre, not the Israeli Ministry of Health. There is, therefore, no direct involvement of the Israeli Ministry of Health in the FOH Summit.

“Furthermore, Discovery Health’s involvement is solely aimed at continued advancement of healthcare in South Africa,” Discovery said.

Healthcare

Discovery said that, against the backdrop of health system transformation in South Africa and efforts toward achieving universal access to care, it believes “open dialogue and collaboration are essential to improving healthcare”.

“With the summit being held in South Africa for the first time, we have an opportunity to learn from some of the leading hospitals and healthcare organisations globally.”

Israeli genocide

Israel’s war in Gaza has triggered several legal cases at international courts in The Hague and involves requests for arrest warrants as well as accusations and denials of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Last week, a United Nations Special Committee judged Israel’s conduct of warfare in Gaza “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”, accusing the country of “using starvation as a method of war”.

In October, South Africa submitted hundreds of pages to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), presenting its case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

As more countries back South Africa’s case at the ICJ, Pope Francis joined the debate, urging the global community to investigate whether Israel’s military actions in Gaza constitute genocide against the Palestinian people.

ALSO READ: ‘Intent is clear’ in Israel’s Gaza genocide, says SA as it files ICJ case