{"id":509552,"date":"2026-06-24T23:53:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/509552\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:53:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:53:19","slug":"bma-votes-to-scrap-international-definition-of-antisemitism-across-nhs-in-shock-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/509552\/","title":{"rendered":"BMA votes to scrap international definition of antisemitism across NHS in shock move"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To guide IHRA in its work, it cites\u00a0a number of examples of how antisemitism manifests itself, such as comparing\u00a0Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, or holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of Israel.<\/p>\n

NHS England endorsed\u00a0the definition last year after ministers ordered action amid surging rates of antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then\u00a0health secretary Wes Streeting mandated that NHS England and all Department of Health and Social Care arm’s length bodies explicitly adopt\u00a0IHRA.<\/p>\n

But BMA members backed\u00a0a motion at the AGM in Brighton\u00a0which expressed\u00a0\u201cgrave concern\u201d about the\u00a0IHRA\u00a0definition of antisemitism in the NHS.<\/p>\n

It claimed\u00a0that the IHRA definition has a \u201cchilling effect\u201d on political speech, and means that NHS doctors cannot express \u201cethical concerns about Israel\u2019s actions in Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n

The motion, initially proposed by BMA consultants,\u00a0stated: \u201cThis meeting expresses grave concern about the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism in the NHS without proper consultation or risk assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n

It says the\u00a0BMA \u2013\u00a0which represents\u00a0over 200,000 doctors and medical students across the UK \u2013 must\u00a0\u201cimmediately investigate the impact of IHRA definition adoption on NHS staff, particularly regarding the chilling effect on legitimate political speech and professional expression of ethical concerns about Israel’s actions in Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also demanded\u00a0that \u201cNHS England and all NHS organisations conduct comprehensive risk assessments before implementing any speech-related policies\u201d.<\/p>\n

The motion pressed\u00a0for\u00a0\u201curgent guidance and support to members who face disciplinary action or professional detriment for expressing legitimate political views or ethical concerns about international conflicts, including Palestine\/Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u00a0urged\u00a0the BMA to \u201clobby the government and NHS England to revoke the mandatory adoption of the IHRA definition across the NHS until proper safeguards, consultation processes, and clarity on implementation are established [and] advocate for the protection of free speech in healthcare settings, ensuring that NHS staff can engage in legitimate political discourse and express ethical concerns without fear of professional reprisal.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also called\u00a0on the union to \u201cwork with other healthcare unions and professional bodies to challenge any attempts to use the IHRA definition to suppress legitimate debate about human rights violations, war crimes, or colonial practices in international conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BMA told the JC that the\u00a0motion speaks to the \u201cfrustration of members\u201d who feel that their ability to challenge Israel \u201cis under threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IHRA definition states that: \u201cAntisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and\/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BMA\u2019s move comes\u00a0after the government accepted in full all the recommendations published in a review<\/a> into antisemitism in the NHS written by Lord Mann, its independent adviser on antisemitism.<\/p>\n

Mann said in his report that NHS employers needed to take greater responsibility for tackling anti-Jewish racism and called for national guidance on uniform and NHS-issued equipment.<\/p>\n

Among the recommendations adopted by the government was that\u00a0the leaders of all NHS provider trusts must\u00a0undergo anti-racism training, specifically including antisemitism, within six months.<\/p>\n

But there has been opposition to the measures from some in the NHS.<\/p>\n

The British Islamic Medical Association and the Muslim Doctors Association were among the medical bodies that accused the review\u2019s focus on antisemitism of being too “narrow” and called on the government to pause its response.<\/p>\n

The groups warned that longstanding evidence of the \u201centrenched inequalities\u201d faced by black and ethnic minority staff is being ignored and said they were concerned by the \u201cnarrow framing of the review\u201d.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, outside University College Hospital (UCLH) in London last week, leaflets were distributed opposing the government\u2019s plans to implement recommendations from Lord Mann\u2019s review.<\/p>\n

\"LeafletsLeaflets calling a review into NHS antisemitism ‘racist’ were distributed near UCLH[Missing Credit]<\/a> <\/p>\n

The leaflets, with the phrase \u201cHands Off Our Healthworkers, we will not be silent about the genocide in Palestine\u201d on them, were handed out near UCLH on June 17.<\/p>\n

The leaflet claimed the Mann review is “racist” and claimed that enhanced antisemitism training in the NHS is really \u201cpro-Israel indoctrination\u201d.<\/p>\n

It referred to Mann as a “Zionist\u201d, adding: \u201cIt is clear from the title and throughout the review that antisemitism is exceptionalised and prioritised over all other forms of racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for UCLH said in response to the leaflets: \u201cWe did not sanction the distribution of the leaflet, and while we have no jurisdiction over the public pathways, we do recognise the distress this will have caused our Jewish colleagues and patients. We have always been very clear that UCLH is a politically-neutral organisation with the sole purpose of providing healthcare in an environment where patients, their families and all our staff feel safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny individuals who seek to campaign on our premises will be asked to leave, and individuals who intimidate our patients or staff will be managed appropriately by senior leaders and our security team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to the vote, a spokesperson for the BMA told the JC:\u00a0 \u201cAntisemitism is completely unacceptable. There is no place for it in the BMA, NHS, or wider society and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms, as we do with all discrimination based on race, religion, sexuality, gender or disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctors in the UK and around the world have witnessed in horror the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded during the Middle East conflict, with the devastating loss of civilian life and in particular, the attacks on healthcare workers and healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctors must be able to legitimately challenge the actions of states and armed forces, especially when healthcare is under threat, without being unfairly accused of any kind of discrimination, or threatened with disciplinary action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis motion speaks to the frustration of members who feel that their freedom to do this is under threat, and we will continue to advocate for all doctors and medical students to appropriately exercise freedom of expression on matters of conscience while at the same time protecting them from discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To guide IHRA in its work, it cites\u00a0a number of examples of how antisemitism manifests itself, such as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1307,85,46,43,2662],"class_list":["post-509552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-hospitals","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-nhs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}