19.11.25
Editorial Note
The 7th Global Mental Health Summit was held from November 10 to 12, 2025, in Cape Town, South Africa. The Summit aims to “bring together renowned experts and thought leaders from around the world to engage in critical discussions on the current state of mental health and chart a course for the future. With a focus on addressing challenges and exploring innovative solutions, this Summit promises to be a catalyst for meaningful change.”
An Israeli speaker, Prof. Galia Moran, a Social Work scholar from Ben-Gurion University, intended to speak about “Multicultural perspectives and experiences of peer support workers providing peer support in mental health services.”
Moran’s research is unique and innovative in the field of mental health. In a personal article in 2017, titled “Why Am I Researching New Approaches in Mental Health?” she explained she comes “from a family that knows the issue of mental health intimately and also the social challenge of the stigma barrier. Therefore, I was driven to contribute to a change in the approach to people with psychiatric disorders. I believe that if a person with a psychiatric disorder is treated first and foremost as a person and not as a symptom, in many cases it is possible to achieve recovery and a full life in the community while coping with the illness. I went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University, where the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Recovery was founded in collaboration with professionals, family members and people dealing with psychiatric disorders. There I was greatly inspired when I met peer providers – people diagnosed with a serious psychiatric disorder who work to provide help to others dealing with a psychiatric disorder.”
She also explained that “These people support the processes of personal recovery based on knowledge from their own experience. The peers are role models and enable open, mutual dialogue at eye level, and the atmosphere is respectful without the feelings of neglect and stigma that accompany many psychiatric institutions… recovery colleges have now developed around the world, especially in England, where there are over 70 colleges, and in Australia, where there are about 40 colleges, where courses are given to those dealing with mental disorders by peer service providers on topics related to recovery. In Israel, there are already buds for the development of peer service in psychiatric hospitals, for example at Mazor Hospital in Acre and the Mental Health Center in Beersheba. But there is a lack of peer services that would support these people in their daily lives outside of psychiatric institutions.”
“Therefore,” she continued, “I am excited that I will soon be starting an international project with seven countries from Europe, Africa and Asia, to develop and implement a peer service in the community. The development of the peer intervention is planned to provide a service to those dealing with psychiatric disorders, expose professionals to the value of experiential knowledge, and complement and improve existing services based mainly on clinical knowledge. In this international study, we will have the opportunity to discuss with colleagues and professionals from different countries ways to integrate peers into mental health services, and to develop the field through an international peer internet infrastructure.”
She then explains, “Together with my students, I try to understand and promote personal recovery processes and help people achieve meaningful and functioning lives in the community. Because the problem of deep stigma in the context of mental disorders constitutes a social challenge of the highest order, I use approaches and concepts from positive psychology. My research deals with all levels: the individual, rehabilitation services, and understanding the entire system.”
However, the group Health Care Workers for Palestine–South Africa (HCW4P-SA) objected to the inclusion of an Israeli academic in the conference program.
Her presentation was withdrawn following their objection.
A statement by HCW4P-SA argued that Moran’s participation was “inappropriate” in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and “the brutal apartheid policies inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and other occupied territories.” Also claiming, “While Gaza’s mental health system lies in ruins and Palestinians endure genocide, Israeli academics from complicit institutions are given platforms at mental health conferences.” The HCW4P-SA also stated that “This normalization contradicts the very principles of mental health advocacy.”
HCW4P-SA stated it had requested that the organizers ask Moran to “publicly condemn the genocide and its catastrophic mental health impacts on Gaza’s people,” as well as Israel’s “occupation policies.” The summit organizers declined, explaining that it would be “neither their duty nor just to force speakers to denounce their own country’s actions.”
As reported, Moran refused to issue a condemnation and subsequently withdrew from the summit. The HCW4P-SA maintained that Israeli universities are “part of the state apparatus, support the military establishment, and are complicit in denying Palestinian rights.” Adding that allowing an Israeli delegate to speak without addressing the situation in Gaza was “immoral and unethical.”
The HCW4P-SA statement also referred to South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of committing genocide in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. It says, “Going forward, if Israeli delegates are to attend or present at conferences in South Africa, we demand they condemn their government’s genocide and present without institutional affiliation,” the HCW4P-SA stated. It also framed its demands within the context of the BDS movement, comparing it to the international academic and cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. It concluded by stating, “Such a request is not a violation of academic freedom… It is a question of human rights, social justice, and freedom from oppression.”
But the case of South Africa is significant. South Africa established extremely close ties with the Islamic regime in Iran and played an important part in its anti-Israeli propaganda.
By now, there is a long history in this path. In August 2001, in parallel with the Durban Conference, pro-Iranian groups infiltrated the NGOs Forum, an event attended by representatives of some 3000 NGOs, which passed a resolution describing Israel as a racist, apartheid state, guilty of “racist crimes, including war crimes, acts of genocide, and ethnic cleansing.” Iran shaped, amplified, and radicalized parts of the movement through sustained political alliances, ideological outreach, Shia community networks, and propaganda messaging—turning South Africa into one of Tehran’s most valuable global partners in the anti-Israel campaign.
The problem with the anti-Israel campaign of South Africa runs very deep. A virtually wholly-owned subsidiary of the Islamic regime, South Africa plays a large part in delegitimizing Israel in the international arena in general and the International Court of Justice in particular.
Academia is yet another platform. To recall, the BDS movement falsely claimed that it does not target individual Israeli scholars, only Israeli institutions.
REFERENCES
Should Israeli academics condemn genocide in Palestine? HCW4P-SA weighs in
Published 2025-11-12
Controversy erupted at the 7th Global Mental Health Summit in Cape Town after Health Care Workers for Palestine–South Africa (HCW4P-SA) objected to the inclusion of an Israeli academic in the conference programme.
The summit, held from November 10 to 12 at Cape Town City Hall, was set to feature Dr. Galia Moran, a social work academic from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.
Her presentation, titled “Multicultural perspectives and experiences of peer support workers providing peer support in mental health services,” was withdrawn following the objection.
In a statement issued by HCW4P-SA, the group argued that Dr. Moran’s participation was “inappropriate” in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and “the brutal apartheid policies inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and other occupied territories.”
“While Gaza’s mental health system lies in ruins and Palestinians endure genocide, Israeli academics from complicit institutions are given platforms at mental health conferences,” HCW4P-SA said. “This normalisation contradicts the very principles of mental health advocacy.”
The organisation said it had requested that summit organisers ask Dr. Moran to “publicly condemn the genocide and its catastrophic mental health impacts on Gaza’s people,” as well as Israel’s occupation policies.
However, according to the statement, summit organisers declined, stating that it would be “neither their duty nor just to force speakers to denounce their own country’s actions.”
Additionally, Dr. Moran reportedly refused to issue a condemnation and subsequently withdrew from the event.
HCW4P-SA maintained that Israeli universities are “part of the state apparatus, support the military establishment, and are complicit in denying Palestinian rights.”
The group added that allowing Israeli delegates to present without addressing the situation in Gaza was “immoral and unethical.”
The statement also referenced South Africa’s ongoing case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which accuses Israel of committing genocide in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
“Going forward, if Israeli delegates are to attend or present at conferences in South Africa, we demand they condemn their government’s genocide and present without institutional affiliation,” HCW4P-SA said.
The organisation framed its demand within the context of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, comparing it to the international academic and cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Such a request is not a violation of academic freedom,” the group concluded. “It is a question of human rights, social justice, and freedom from oppression.”
IOL
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5d
Join us in protest this Wednesday, 12 November 8:30 am at the City Hall of Cape Town, as we stand against the participation of Dr. Galia Moran, an Israeli speaker, at the 7th Global Mental Health Summit.
Dr. Moran is scheduled to speak on Wednesday at the Summit — and this raises a serious ethical concern.
It is deeply ironic and profoundly hypocritical to host an Israeli academic to speak about mental health while Israel continues to inflict trauma, collective punishment, and psychological devastation on Palestinians through decades of military occupation, systemic violence, and today, a genocide in Gaza.
Inviting an Israeli representative to discuss mental health without acknowledging her state’s role in producing trauma is not neutrality — it is complicity.
We therefore call on Dr. Moran to:
Publicly condemn the genocide in Gaza Acknowledge Israel’s decades-long colonial violence against Palestinians Recognize the psychological and generational trauma caused by Israeli policies And we call on the Summit organizers to ensure that mental health discourse does not whitewash oppression, but centers the voices of those subjected to violence.
Mental health without justice is hypocrisy.
Mental health without decolonization is empty rhetoric.
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6d
GENOCIDE AND THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN GAZA
While Gaza’s mental health system collapses under the weight of bombs and displacement, an academic from Ben-Gurion University, an institution complicit in apartheid and military research, was invited to speak at South Africa’s 7th Global Mental Health Summit.
She remained silent on the genocide and the psychological torment inflicted on millions of Palestinians.
We cannot separate mental health from justice.
We cannot speak of healing while ignoring those denied humanity.
Mental health is not neutral, it exists within systems of power.
To talk about trauma without naming its cause is to side with the oppressor.
As the 7th Global Mental Health Summit unfolds in Cape Town, we call on South African institutions, practitioners, and advocates to stand on the right side of history.
To centre Gaza’s suffering.
To reject complicity in genocide and apartheid.
The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme warns that Palestinians face one of the world’s most severe mental health crises, children, mothers, and elders living through daily trauma, loss, and displacement.
No mental well-being is possible under occupation, siege, genocide, or apartheid.
Mental health begins with dignity, safety, and justice.
She has since withdrawn from the summit after being asked to condemn genocide and apartheid.
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Jewish doctors quit SAMA over anti-Israel boycott
November 13, 2025
At least 80 Jewish doctors and healthcare professionals have resigned from the South African Medical Association (SAMA) after it suspended all ties with the Israel Medical Association (IMA) last month and called for the IMA’s expulsion from the World Medical Association (WMA).
The move, which many medical professionals describe as deeply divisive and politically motivated, has intensified concerns over rising anti-Israel sentiment and, increasingly, antisemitism within the global medical fraternity.
For many Jewish doctors in South Africa, SAMA’s announcement created discomfort and a sense of alienation. Several have already resigned, while others are withholding decisions as discussions between stakeholders continue. A number of non-Jewish doctors have also voiced disquiet, saying the association’s stance risks damaging collegiality and professionalism in the medical field.
Wendy Kahn, the national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), said the Board had been approached on this issue by a number of doctors from different faith backgrounds, many of whom have been members of SAMA for many decades.
“They have expressed concern, not just with the resolutions, but with SAMA’s lack of broad consultation,” she said.
“We reached out to SAMA chief executive, Dr Mzulungile Nodikida, who agreed to meet us. We felt that he and his colleagues were genuinely concerned by the impact that these resolutions have had on members. We highlighted how this was at variance with the SAMA guiding principle of ‘uniting doctors for the health of the nation’,” she said.
Nodikida undertook to take the issue urgently back to the Board with a view to revisiting these decisions, she said. “We have urged members to wait for the outcome of this meeting before considering any further action,” Kahn said.
“It’s discouraging when medical associations like SAMA openly display unethical behaviour by promoting biased positions relating to Israel,” said Dr Martin Strous, the chairperson of the South African Association of Jewish Mental Health and Allied Practitioners (SAJMAP). “SAMA’s decision prompted significant backlash from Jewish medical professionals. Several doctors have resigned, while others are seeking reform within SAMA. It’s hoped that SAMA will reconsider its position.”
Strous said SAJMAP’s membership almost doubled following SAMA’s 4 October statement, a reflection of health professionals’ desire to align themselves with an organisation that rejects bias and advocates for professional integrity.
The repercussions of SAMA’s stance come amid growing hostility towards Jewish and Israeli professionals globally. This week, Israeli academic Dr Galia Moran of Ben-Gurion University withdrew from speaking at the 7th Global Mental Health Summit, held in Cape Town from 10 to 12 November, after pressure and threats of protest from anti-Israel activists, including a planned demonstration outside the Cape Town City Hall.
In response, the SAJBD said, “This bullying behaviour does nothing more than silence academic discourse and stifle engagement on critical topics such as mental health. It’s regrettable that the conference organisers permitted narrow political grandstanding to obstruct legitimate scholarly exploration.”
Strous added: “The deliberate singling out of Dr Moran, not for her ideas but for her Israeli identity, exemplifies precisely the kind of prejudice our association seeks to address.”
The episode has been condemned in academic and medical circles as yet another example of how anti-Israel activism increasingly spills into professional and humanitarian spaces.
In its statement on 4 October, SAMA said it had resolved to suspend immediately all professional and bilateral relations with the IMA and to call for its suspension from the WMA. It cited grave concern regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and what it described as the IMA’s failure to uphold international medical ethics and humanitarian obligations.
The association said the resolution would remain in force until the IMA took verifiable action to demand the release of detained Palestinian medical personnel, condemn the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, and advocate for the free flow of medical supplies.
Despite SAMA’s lobbying, the WMA didn’t suspend the IMA. Instead, on 13 October, the WMA adopted a new resolution urging the Israeli government to uphold humanitarian law and protect healthcare in Gaza, while simultaneously reaffirming its prior call for the immediate and safe release of all hostages.
The WMA emphasised that the protection of healthcare and respect for medical neutrality must remain fundamental, even in times of conflict.
Strous said SAMA’s actions appeared to have been influenced by union alliances; advocacy by the British Medical Association; and calls from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement.
He warned that it aligned with South Africa’s broader pattern of political and institutional support for actions against Israel, including its referral of Israel to the International Court of Justice.
In a detailed position statement issued on 5 October, SAJMAP accused SAMA of procedural irregularities and ideological bias, demanding that it publish full details of its so-called extensive consultation. SAJMAP questioned who was consulted; whether members with opposing views – particularly Jewish members – were invited to participate; and whether votes were recorded or counted.
The organisation also highlighted what it called ideologically skewed editorial gatekeeping within SAMA’s structures, citing recent controversies at the South African Medical Journal, which declined to publish rebuttals to anti-Israel commentary.
“Recent editorial and policy decisions, together with SAMA’s latest move, have created a reasonable perception of ideological bias within the association’s leadership,” the statement said. “It’s unclear whether this stance reflects the views of the broader SAMA membership.”
“Medical boycotts harm patients, slow down innovation, and erode the humanitarian space medicine must protect,” said Strous. SAJMAP referenced the Global Jewish Health Alliance’s January 2025 letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council opposing medical boycotts, arguing that severing scientific co-operation delays treatment, disrupts research, and ultimately injures patients globally.
The association also noted SAMA’s silence on Hamas’s use of hospitals as military bases and its failure to call for the release of hostages held in Gaza, saying that this selective activism raises serious concerns about discrimination.
“If SAMA’s objective is genuinely to protect patients and uphold humanitarian law,” SAJMAP said, “there are constructive, non-boycott approaches fully consistent with medical ethics. Constructive engagement grounded in dialogue rather than disengagement would strengthen ethical accountability and promote tangible health benefits across divides.”
SAMA’s move follows similar initiatives in parts of Europe, North America, and the United Kingdom, where medical bodies and journals have issued statements harshly critical of Israel, often with little or no reference to the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks that triggered the ongoing war.
SAMA had not responded to questions by the time of publication.
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למה אני חוקרת גישות חדשות בבריאות הנפש?
האמנתי שאם מתייחסים לאדם עם הפרעה פסיכיאטרית קודם כל כאדם ולא כאל סימפטום, ניתן להגיע במקרים רבים להחלמה וחיים מלאים בקהילה לצד ההתמודדות עם המחלה
ד”ר גליה מורן פורסם: 22.12.17, 09:03
לאחר שילדתי את בתי הראשונה, מצאתי עצמי בצומת דרכים בחיי – האם להמשיך בנתיב המקצועי המתבקש כפסיכולוגית קלינית מומחית או לעשות משהו נוסף מחוץ לחדר הקליניקה, שישפיע גם על העולם הרחב. אני בת למשפחה שמכירה את נושא בריאות הנפש מקרוב וגם את האתגר החברתי של מחסום הסטיגמה. לכן בער בי הדחף לתרום לשינוי בגישה לאנשים עם הפרעות פסיכיאטריות.
האמנתי שאם מתייחסים לאדם עם הפרעה פסיכיאטרית קודם כל כאדם ולא כאל סימפטום, ניתן להגיע במקרים רבים להחלמה וחיים מלאים בקהילה לצד ההתמודדות עם המחלה.
יצאתי לפוסט דוקטורט באוניברסיטת בוסטון, שבה נוסד המרכז לשיקום פסיכיאטרי והחלמה תוך שיתוף פעולה של אנשי מקצוע, בני משפחה ואנשים המתמודדים עם הפרעות פסיכיאטריות. שם קיבלתי השראה רבה כאשר פגשתי בעמיתים (peer providers) – אנשים המאובחנים עם הפרעה פסיכיאטרית חמורה אשר עובדים במתן עזרה לאחרים המתמודדים עם הפרעה פסיכיאטרית.אנשים אלו תומכים בתהליכי ההחלמה האישית מתוך התבססות על ידע מניסיונם. העמיתים מהווים מודל חיקוי ומאפשרים שיח פתוח הדדי בגובה עיניים, והאווירה מכבדת ללא תחושות ההזנחה והסטיגמה שמלווים מוסדות פסיכיאטרים רבים. בתמונה שבחרתי להציג כאן רואים דמויות פליימוביל אוחזות ידיים יחדיו מעלה, דבר שמסמל את ההדדיות והתקווה שגלומה בקשר בין עמיתים. כהשראה ממודל זה התפתחו כיום מכללות החלמה recovery colleges ברחבי העולם ובמיוחד באנגליה בה פועלות למעלה מ-70 מכללות, ובאוסטרליה בה פועלות כ-40 מכללות בהן ניתנים קורסים למתמודדים עם הפרעות נפשיות על ידי עמיתים נותני שירות בנושאים הקשורים להחלמה.
בישראל קיימים ניצנים לפיתוח שירות עמיתים כבר כיום בבתי החולים הפסיכיאטרים, למשל בבית החולים מזור בעכו ובמרכז לבריאות הנפש בבאר שבע. אך חסרים שירותי עמיתים שיתמכו באנשים אלו גם במסגרת חייהם היומיומיים מחוץ למוסדות הפסיכיאטריים.
לכן, אני נרגשת מכך שבקרוב מאוד אתחיל בפרויקט בינלאומי עם שבע מדינות מאירופה, אפריקה ואסיה, כדי לפתח וליישם שירות עמיתים בקהילה. פיתוח התערבות העמיתים מתוכננת לתת שירות למתמודדים עם הפרעות פסיכיאטריות, לחשוף אנשי מקצוע לערך שטמון בידע מניסיון, ולהשלים ולשפר את השירותים הקיימים המבוססים בעיקר על ידע קליני. במחקר בינלאומי זה תהיה לנו הזדמנות לדון עם עמיתים ואנשי מקצוע ממדינות שונות על דרכים לשילוב עמיתים בתוך שירותי בריאות נפש, ולפתח את התחום באמצעות תשתית אינטרנטית בינלאומית של עמיתים.
יחד עם הסטודנטים שלי אני מנסה להבין ולקדם תהליכי החלמה אישית ולסייע לאנשים להגיע לחיים בעלי משמעות ותפקוד בקהילה. מפני שבעיית הסטיגמה העמוקה בהקשר להפרעות נפשיות מהווה אתגר חברתי ממעלה ראשונה, אני משתמשת בגישות ומושגים מפסיכולוגיה חיובית. המחקרים שלי עוסקים בכל הרמות: באדם, בשירותי השיקום, ובהבנה של המערכת כולה. מאז אותה החלטה להשפיע על העולם ולא להישאר בתוך הקליניקה, נולדו לי עוד שתי בנות. וגם היום, למרות כל השנים שעברו, אני מרגישה זכות לעסוק עשייה האקדמית והפרקטית שבה בחרתי.
ד”ר גליה מורן, ראש המגמה לבריאות הנפש, המחלקה לעבודה סוציאלית, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון.
israel-academia-monitor.com 