The June 2004 edition of Diabetes Voice — a quarterly publication of the International Diabetes Federation — included a report on the disease in the Gaza Strip. Here’s the abstract, which appeared in bold at the top of the article:
The year 2003 marked the 55th anniversary of the Nakba (cataclysm) of the Palestinian people. In 1948, according to the United Nations Conciliation Commission, 760,000 Palestinians were evicted from their cities and villages, hundreds of which were razed to the ground. What remains of the Palestinian people’s land is now split between the West Bank of the river Jordan and Qita Ghazzah (Gaza Strip), and remains occupied by Israeli military forces and settlers. In 2003, the second uprising, or Al-Aqsa Intifada against this occupation entered its third year. Panagiotis Tsapogas, Medical Co-ordinator of the Greek section of Mdecins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders) in Gaza, 2002-2003, reports on the difficulties faced by Palestinian people with diabetes in Gaza, and makes a call for the provision of improved diabetes care in the region.
NGO-Monitor responded:
This short abstract consists of a blatantly political attack that has little or nothing to do with diabetes. The one-sided and highly distorted version of history that is presented is based on the Palestinian version of events and vocabulary, and immorally ignores the brutality of Palestinian terrorism. It is also entirely inconsistent with the goals proclaimed by Diabetes Voice, the International Diabetes Federation, and Medecins Sans Frontires.
We therefore urge you to consider delaying publication of the article in full until an impartial and professional review board can consider its merit and the implications of publication on the credibility of this publication and of the International Diabetes Federation.
The article was published as-is, but the organization published an official apology for the abstract:
We regret the political tone of this introductory paragraph, which in no way represents the views of the Federation. On behalf of IDF and Diabetes Voice, we offer our unreserved apology to those who have been offended.
As bearing responsibility for the content of Diabetes Voice, the Editor-in-chief has offered his resignation which IDF has accepted.
We wish to affirm that the IDF as a Federation of 185 associations in 142 countries does not represent any political views and that its mission is to “promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide”.
The abstract was re-written for the publication’s archived, website version of the article.
But Prof. Itamar Raz, President of the Israeli Diabetes Association and member of the Executive Board of the IDF, is still disturbed by the article, despite the changing of the abstract:
I believe that the article itself also provides an incomplete and politically biased view of the suffering of people with diabetes in the Gaza strip… The major source of statistics about diabetes in Gaza and other areas that were reported in the article resulted from surveys undertaken with the help of the Israel Diabetes Association. I was directly involved in raising and donating the funds to undertake the surveys and to provide the necessary equipment, some of which I personally delivered.
It is sad that Diabetes Voice somewhat hastily rushed to print an article that deals in part with the political situation rather than concentrating on diabetes alone. Rather, Diabetes Voice should be seeking to encourage ways to bridge the gaps between populations, instead of seeming to widen them. IDF should be trying to find ways to enable Israeli and Palestinian health-care professionals to work together. Luckily, in spite of what was written in this article, very quietly and far from the spotlights, true and strong ties are being built between the good people on both sides of this conflict.
Prof. Raz indicates that the editors ‘agreed to consider, from myself and Palestinian physicians a more accurate and hopefully balanced view of the situation in Gaza and in the West Bank for the next issue of Diabetes Voice.’
