The Association has been engaged in several different activities during December.
This month saw the publication in the press of two important articles which have brought the problem of antisemitism in medicine to the attention of the wider public. The Sunday Times article (8/12) was followed by a column in the Times (9/12) and both can be accessed here. The Telegraph article followed (19/12) and can be accessed here.
These provide a background for some further developments:
What are the priorities for tackling antisemitism in medicine?
Together with the NHS Jewish Staff Network the Association participated in discussions with the Board of Deputies about current priorities for Jewish medical and healthcare professionals.
These points were later addressed when David Katz, Emma Orrock and Fiona Sim took part in the meeting on 6th December with the Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting.
Our priorities at this meeting were summarised:
- Antisemitism (anti-Jewish racism) must be treated equally to other forms of racism
- Jewish ethnicity must be recognised within ONS/Census as a tick box option under Other Ethnicity, which would then translate into NHS systems such as the ESR (Electronic Staff Record) which is used by all NHS organisations
- Regulators and NHS employers must be held to account for the way they treat Jewish professionals – and they must be held to account for the way that they handle those who commit antisemitic acts
- A single accepted authoritative definition of antisemitism (IHRA working definition), which has been adopted already widely by public sector bodies, and has a legal basis, must be recognised
- In-line with the NHS constitution, politics must be kept out of the NHS. This includes, but is not limited to symbols, posters, signs, clothing, workplace meetings and clinical meetings, and speech.
- There must be cross departmental commitment to tackling antisemitism including with higher education in particular.
Publication of Race and Health Observatory (RHO) Report
The launch of the “Review of NHS Health Communications with (and for) Jewish Communities” Report took place on 16th December. The full report can be accessed here.
This originated in meetings during Covid between David Katz and Fiona Sim (representing the Association), Martin Ware (and later Emma Orrock) of the Jewish Staff Network and the RHO chair Prof Habib Naqvi.
The project was funded fully by the RHO and the research tender was won by Intact Health. At the launch speakers included Sarah Weiss (Interlink) and Prof Ranjit Manchanda (Jewish BRCA project). Work done by in general practice by Dr Joseph Spitzer and on vaccination by Dr Ben Kasstan was cited. Discussions about how the recommendations can be disseminated and implemented will take place early in 2025.
The recommendations of the report are:
- Services should educate their workforce about local Jewish communities to remove barriers, combat prejudice, improve understanding of how cultural nuances affect health engagement, and to enable the appropriate adaption of services and outreach.
- Improve the consistent use of the principles of trauma-informed care when engaging marginalised communities, to directly address the barriers in accessing care.
- Review and remove assessment questions that actively reinforce negative stereotypes about marginalized communities, specifically including Judaism and the Jewish community, within Medical School student examinations.
- Improving Jewish engagement with services requires a thoughtful adaptation of communications and outreach which respects cultural norms and is cognisant of the reasons for historical mistrust.
- Supporting community-led initiatives can dramatically reduce health inequalities by removing barriers to access, and so this approach needs embedding quickly across all services responsible for engaging marginalised communities, ensuring the Jewish community is recognised and included.
- Mandate the inclusion of ‘Jewish’ as an option for ethnicity and ‘Judaism’ as an option for religion in all NHS patient data records to empower patients, give NHS systems a better understanding of the community they are serving and collect essential data for tracking health outcomes.
- ‘Jewish’ and ‘Judaism’ must be included across all NHS internal and external initiatives designed to recognise and support marginalised communities.
- Combat antisemitism experienced by Jewish staff members by implementing clear frameworks, guidance and action plans.
General Medical Council Webinar
On 12th December the head of the GMC’s Operation Outreach, Tista Chakravarty-Gannon, spoke to the Association on the theme of “Collaboration for compassion: working together to create change”. In her talk she explained the pathways through which complaints to the GMC pass and the way that these pathways emphasise compassion.
In the discussion afterwards Association members expressed serious concerns. GMC failure to adopt the IHRA definition, and the slow pace and lack of action against doctors who had been perpetrators of antisemitism, were highlighted. The comments on the chat have been transcribed, anonymised and sent to the GMC – partly to inform them about the depth of the disquiet felt by Jewish doctors as well as to request action. Overall it was suggested that the GMC did not seem to recognise the gravity of the problem. There were also some concerns that arose from within the session itself: the context in which antisemitism occurs has to be considered; and the GMC push towards “local resolution” of complaints gives the appearance that this route is being used to absolve the GMC itself of responsibility.
Comedy Evening with Dr Benji Waterhouse
Abigail Swerdlow organised a successful joint event with JAMI / Jewish Care and the JMA on 1st December. Dr Benji Waterhouse – comedian, NHS psychiatrist, and author of “You don’t have to be mad to work here” – captivated an enthusiastic audience
Interfaith Medical Activities
The new chair of the UK Sikh Doctors and Dentists Association, Dr Jastinder Singh Ahluwalia, has been in contact about two areas of common interest. MP Preeth Gill (Birmingham Edgbaston) has put forward a Private Members’s Bill to ensure that for Sikhs and Jews both ethnicity and faith are recorded. This issue featured both in the priorities document and in the RHO report above. In addition, the Sikh community has been distressed about the Sikh men whose beards had been removed while they were incapacitated or unconscious. Both these matters will be discussed with MP Gill early in 2025.
Student Jewish Medical Association UK
Millie Koslover and Talia Midgen (sJMA chairs, London) organised two events in December. Mock mini-interviews were arranged and provided for A level students from Jewish schools who are applicants for medical school places during the next few months. Both interview stations and feedback were run by those who had recently been through the experience themselves. They also organised a London pre-Channukah party and quiz event.
Mervyn Jaswon reports that three elective bursaries have been awarded – to Emma Mocton (Israel), Toby Lauffer (South Africa), and Ella Rubinsztein (Thailand).