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Dear John, “As soon as I set foot in Ofer Prison, I left behind my true humanity.” - A Palestinian Prisoner Exactly one year ago, a heart-wrenching photo circulated on social media of Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, pediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, walking through heaps of rubble towards an Israeli military tank. The hospital had become a target for increasingly frequent raids and drone strikes, but Dr. Abu Safiya had refused to leave his patients. Eventually, the Israeli forces had the hospital surrounded. Dr. Abu Safiya was assured that if he cooperated, he and the hospital staff would all be safely relocated and allowed to continue their work. But this was a lie. The Israeli military barged in, took Dr. Abu Safiya, and continued attacking the hospital until it was inoperable. No one heard from Dr. Abu Safiya for weeks. A year later, Dr. Husam Abu Safiya remains in Israeli detention, and one of the most influential medical associations in the world is completely silent. Dr. Abu Safiya, who has not been charged with any crime, is locked away in one of Israel’s most dangerous prisons, Ofer Prison. According to his lawyer, he’s been subjected to a range of abuses and torture, including extended periods of time in solitary confinement. The AMA, comprising nearly 300,000 physicians and medical students across the country, has yet to say a single word on behalf of Dr. Abu Safiya, their imprisoned Palestinian peer. Do they not understand the precedent being set when a genocidal regime like Israel is allowed to kidnap, torture, imprison, and kill medical professionals? Don’t they care about their colleagues? And Palestinian doctors as a whole? Putting pressure on respected associations as the AMA works — we’ve seen it ourselves. Many of you added your voices to demand that the World Medical Association speak out on behalf of Dr. Abu Safiya, and they did, calling for his immediate and unconditional release as recently as last month. The AMA holds a lot of credibility; they need to speak up about Dr. Abu Safiya before it’s too late. CODEPINKers in Chicago, myself included, are planning to deliver this petition to the AMA headquarters in January. We need as many signatures as possible! Tell the American Medical Association to advocate for its colleagues! Institutions like the AMA should be enraged that physicians on the frontlines are being subjected to systemic torture. Recent accounts from imprisoned Palestinians describe abuses by Israeli officials. One of the accounts given to a Middle East Eye reporter was about Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to Ofer Prison, where Dr. Abu Safiya is detained.* Ben-Gvir directed the torture of prisoners while he and his two children watched and laughed. Dr. Abu Safiya’s hospital was one of the only functioning hospitals remaining in the north of Gaza. His imprisonment and torture are a microcosm of Israel’s attack on Gaza’s healthcare system. Israel has sought to expedite the genocide by destroying hospitals, killing and imprisoning healthcare workers, and blocking equipment and medicine from entering Gaza. How can the AMA remain silent? As we approach the new year, I’ve been thinking about this quote from Mahmoud Darwish: “We suffer from an incurable malady: Hope.” As Zionism and Western imperialism infringe on Palestinian land and freedom every day, we must remain hopeful. We must remember that we can and will enact true and lasting change. In 2026, Palestine will be one step closer to liberation. 👉 Here are more ways to engage:
Until
Liberation, P.S. Check out our fresh new arrivals at our CODEPINK Store!
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