Dr. Richard Horton, editor of the British medical journal The Lancet, flew to Israel a few days ago to make amends for an egregious lapse of judgment. In July, he published An Open Letter for the People of Gaza, a shamefully biased piece about the recent war in the Gaza Strip accusing Israel of committing war crimes against the Palestinians “under the guise of punishing terrorists.”
Shortly after its appearance, two of its five authors, Dr. Paola Manduca and Dr. Swee Ang, exchanged telling e-mails. Dr. Manduca forwarded an e-mail from Dr. Ang to the Italian Google group Sempre Contro la Guerra. The e-mail contained a link to CNN Goldmann Sachs & the Zio Matrix, an antisemitic video made by the professional American hatemonger David Duke.
Dr. Ang, in her e-mail, had written, “This is a shocking video, please watch. This is not about Palestine — it is about all of us.” In bold red lettering, she wrote, “SEE THIS VIDEO BEFORE IT IS REMOVED FROM CIRCULATION. Please pass it on to others who you think would be interested and would pass on. The whole world needs to know.”
This e-mail exchange was exposed by NGO Monitor, a research institute in Jerusalem. On Sept. 1, NGO Monitor notified The Lancet‘s parent company about the e-mails and urged Dr. Horton to retract the open letter. Neither bothered to respond, but shortly afterward, Dr. Horton cavalierly characterized NGO Monitor’s disclosure as a “smear campaign.”
After receiving an avalanche of critical letters from irate readers, Dr. Horton had second thoughts. He flew to Israel, the country The Lancet had so gratuitously maligned.
Following a visit to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, he expressed deep regret for having published this blatantly one-sided piece, promised to publish a retraction, commissioned an article from the Israeli perspective and pledged to cultivate a new relationship with Israel. He also condemned Drs. Ang and Manduca for having tacitly recommended David Duke as an authoritative reference.
Dr. Horton had every reason to be upset, but he can only blame himself.
An Open Letter for the People of Gaza is nothing more than cheap and sensational propaganda based on half-truths. In publishing it, Dr. Horton was remiss in his duties.
The authors denounce “the aggression of Gaza by Israel,” yet completely ignore the fact that Hamas ignited the war by firing rockets into Israel. Hamas’ indiscriminate bombardment of Israel goes unmentioned, as does its refusal to accept Israel’s existence.
They also take Israel to task for its blockade of Gaza, but gloss over the rationale for it. Absent the siege, Hamas would have imported heavier and more deadly weapons into Gaza with impunity. The blockade can be lifted only within the framework of a peace agreement or long-range truce between Israel and the Palestinians. As well, the authors ignore another important point — Hamas’ deliberate use of Palestinian human shields as a cynical war tactic.
By posting and thereby promoting David Duke’s despicable link, Drs. Ang and Manduca are guilty of conduct unbecoming of their profession. They now find themselves beyond the pale, in the unclean universe of a filthy Jew hater, neo-Nazi and white supremacist who founded the Knights of the Klu Klux Klan, who defames Jews at every turn and who denies the Holocaust.
Is this the company they wish to keep? Is this the poisonous chalice they wanted to throw into the already toxic mix of the Arab-Israeli conflict? One can be certain that decent and reasonable Palestinians will cringe and reject their support.
These obtuse physicians have landed in the purgatory of their stupidity, and Dr. Horton should ban them from the pages of The Lancet for life.