“Don’t fund genocide”: Irish doctors demand state to boycott ‘Israeli’ medicine

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

A group of more than 50 pediatric consultants at Children's Health Ireland (CHI) have demanded Ireland to stop using medication from the ‘Israeli’ company Teva Pharmaceuticals.

The consultants' letter, sent to Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and CHI CEO Lucy Nugent, requests that the state "take immediate steps to discontinue the procurement and use of pharmaceuticals manufactured by Teva where viable alternatives exist".

The consultants justify their demand by alleging that Teva, as an ‘Israeli’ company, "directly funds the diplomatic and military resources employed by the Israeli government to carry out a genocide and silence dissent domestically and internationally.”

They further say that Teva "provides Israeli forces with medical supplies and donations," which they argue have been used to harm patients and destroy healthcare infrastructure in Gaza.

“The company provides Israeli forces with medical supplies and donations. These resources have been used to slaughter patients, health professionals, and utterly destroy the healthcare infrastructure in Gaza,” the letter continued.

The group describes the situation in Gaza as a "humanitarian catastrophe" that meets the "legal definition of genocide".

Professional bodies, including the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), have previously condemned the targeting of healthcare facilities and personnel in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has also called for a ceasefire and urged the government to help evacuate critically ill children from Gaza.

The controversy has placed the Irish government in a difficult position. While the government has positioned itself as a vocal supporter of Palestinians, including evacuating up to 30 sick children from Gaza for treatment in Ireland, its procurement policies are legally bound by national and EU law.

Activist groups like Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine (IHCW4P) have criticized this stance, accusing government departments and the Health Service Executive (HSE) of using "smoke and mirrors" and "hiding behind 'EU law'" to avoid implementing ethical procurement policies.

A group of US House of Representatives members has urged the Treasury Department to consider adding Ireland to a list of countries boycotting ‘Israel’ if it proceeds with legislation aligned with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which could subject Ireland to potential tax penalties.