STATEMENT ON PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
Sign on to endorse the statement HERE. In order to have an accurate count of individuals who agree, we are asking you to include your name and postal/zip code. We do not plan to publicize this list, and if it seems strategically valuable to do so, we will contact you for your consent first.
Click HERE for more ways to take action.
As a major humanitarian crisis unfolds in Gaza, Naturopathic Doctors must join the urgent appeal for a sustained and permanent cessation of violence, and meaningful humanitarian aid.
We are deeply concerned about cycles of violence causing such vast injuries and loss of life. As healthcare providers who seek to understand and address the root causes of disease - which are overwhelmingly social and ecological, driven by deliberate systems of power and oppression, including systemic racism - we grieve for the health impacts of crumbling of infrastructure; destruction of homes, places of worship, and schools; lack of food, water, medicine, and electricity; environmental devastation; and widespread displacement of millions of people in Palestine. The lack of protection of healthcare workers, healthcare resources, and infrastructure has resulted in the collapse of a healthcare system servicing millions of individuals in Gaza, the majority of whom are the most vulnerable population: children (1,2). The psychological wounds of inflicting, experiencing, and bearing witness to violence and human suffering - both on the ground and from afar - has catastrophic repercussions for the near future and for generations to come (3,4,5). Far from being optimal conditions for health, this is a formula for a public health disaster which will lead to more loss of innocent lives (6).
We are a profession that recognizes the interconnection of all living beings, and understands the underpinnings of and reverberating health impacts of trauma and grief. The oath we took as naturopathic doctors calls on us to be advocates for health and healing. We must take action to support sustained conflict resolution in Israel and Palestine, the unconditional release of hostages and return home of all who are unjustly held captive, and protection of fundamental human rights and determinants of good health for all. We must uphold the fundamental naturopathic principle of Primum Non Nocere by standing in solidarity against antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and hatred of any form, and Preventare by doing what we can individually and collectively to prevent conflict and promote the health benefits of peace (7).
