Love of the Land: BMJ's Selective Editing

BMJ's Selective Editing

While the online version includes positive material, why is it missing from the medical publication's print edition?


Honest Reporting
Media Critique
08 February '10

The tragic story of Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian obstetrician and gynecologist whose three daughters and niece were killed by Israeli fire during the Gaza conflict, featured prominently in Israeli and world media at the time and subsequently.

To recall, Dr Abuelaish, fluent in Hebrew, worked in Israel's Tel Hashomer Hospital and advocated for peace and coexistence. Even after his terrible personal loss, Dr Abuelaish has continued to promote coexistence and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

As the British Medical Journal's online feature (PDF format) on Abuelaish stated:

Even before the interview began it was clear that his warmth for Israelis was still intact. A few moments before getting into the taxi he saw a pregnant Israeli woman, and although he was in a hurry he stopped to ask her when she was due and how the pregnancy was going.

The article describes Abuelaish's plans to create a foundation to enable women from the Middle East to attend university and for an academic campus located in Gaza. It concludes:

Dr Abuelaish is also raising funds for an Israeli institution. At the end of January he will travel to Germany to seek money to build a conference facility at Sheba Medical Center, near Tel Aviv, where he used to work. He envisages a project that will be named in memory of his daughters. For several years Dr Abuelaish worked part time at Sheba on fertility research and treatment projects.

(Read full critique)

Love of the Land: BMJ's Selective Editing