Antisemitism in all forms is an age-old problem, one that has reared its ugly head once again in medicine in the wake of Oct. 7, 2023. However, antisemitism in healthcare is different from other forms of antisemitism; it is a threat to all the health of all patients and the pipeline of future talent in medicine.

The Hippocratic Oath demands that healthcare be focused on humans and healing, not on geopolitics and prejudice. All patients and professionals must feel safe and know that they are getting expert attention and care required for treatment, without regard to religion, heritage, or national origin of either patients or providers. The operating room and the ER must be free from politics, racism and prejudice, because healthcare professionals must work together to save lives. 

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When a patient codes, it is all hands on deck; every professional in the room has a role. A unified response is urgent and essential. That is why the American Jewish Medical Association (AJMA) has pulled passionate Jewish professionals together: to ensure that, while each of us takes a critical individual role in combatting antisemitism in medicine, as a collective we work effectively and strategically together.

On August 25, AJMA convened the first official meeting of major Jewish organizations who have stepped up to fight antisemitism in healthcare. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization of America, StandWithUs, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the Center for Combating Antisemitism, and Psychologists Against Antisemitism all joined AJMA’s meeting to discuss how to most effectively fight this scourge on Western society.

Each organization brings a distinct and critical strength to the coalition, and AJMA encouraged the collective group to lean into each other’s competitive advantages and expertise to strategically and collaboratively address the problem.

Founded in the wake of Oct. 7, 2023, and with a growing membership of over 2,200 healthcare professionals and trainees representing hundreds of disciplines and institutions, AJMA provides an insider-led approach and insights to guide the work, and other organizations bring legal, research, advocacy, allyship and educational expertise and resources to the table.

As such, our August gathering was not just symbolic, but strategic. By fostering collaboration, AJMA and its partners will:

• Achieve mission alignment, ensuring that all organizations are moving in the same direction with clarity of purpose.
• Avoid duplication of efforts, leaning into each organization’s competitive advantage, thereby more effectively leveraging existing and finite community resources.
• Elevate a unified voice, making advocacy and representation more powerful and effective in policy circles, academia and public health institutions.
• Leverage each organization’s unique strengths, whether in research, the law, training or direct support of Jewish healthcare professionals.
• Encourage cross-pollination so that expertise, resources and networks can flow freely between groups, accelerating progress and innovation and identifying potential joint ventures.

The convening on Aug. 25 represents the beginning of a coordinated movement that ensures Jewish voices in healthcare are not isolated or fragmented, but strong, connected and empowered. By assuming this leadership role, AJMA is both protecting Jewish healthcare professionals and patients and safeguarding the integrity of healthcare as a whole.

The work ahead is ambitious, but the vision is clear: a healthcare environment where antisemitism is confronted with the full strength of the Jewish communal network and where Jewish healthcare professionals can thrive as healers, leaders and advocates.

Confronting antisemitism in healthcare is urgent, even lifesaving work. We know that collaborating across organizational boundaries is complex and often messy. But when the patient is coding, everyone must not only rush in to help but also follow the lead physician’s instructions, adhere to proven protocols and find a rhythm together.

Each organization in this coalition has a vital role to play, but without coordination, even the best efforts risk duplication, missteps or missed opportunities. With alignment, however, we can perform like a medical team at its best: unified, purposeful and effective. As in the ER or OR, success will depend on clear leadership, disciplined teamwork and the conviction that every second, every contribution, makes a difference.

AJMA is honored to engage with our strategic partners so that strengths and resources are harnessed toward a shared outcome. We look forward to working with additional mission-aligned entities to fight antisemitism in healthcare. Together, we can restore safety, dignity and trust to America’s healing professions.

This historic collaboration signals that the Jewish community is prepared not only to defend itself against antisemitism in healthcare and be poised for new crises, but also to model unity, resilience and determination for the broader fight against all antisemitism.

Michelle Stravitz is the CEO of the American Jewish Medical Association.