Public Health as a Bridge to Peace between Israel and Palestine

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Brian S. Englander

This entry is part 10 of 16 in the series May 2024

In the post-October 7^th era, with the Israel-Hamas war raging, some opponents would prefer to lean into their oppositional instincts, rather than constructive ways to improve health within Israel and Palestine. Cooperation is more essential now than ever.

“Peacebuilding through Cooperation in Health Care and Public Health between Israel and Palestine,” published in the May issue of Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, was first conceived well before October 7^th, as a viable policy within the American Public Health Association (APHA). Leading to the annual meeting of APHA, there had been strong individual and section support for the policy, as many public health professionals understood the need for a thoughtful, collaborative, and productive approach.

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The policy matured since its inception – responding to criticism, seeking divergent perspectives, and considering relevant Israeli and Palestinian literature. This policy neither ignores context and history, nor does it engage in narrative debate. It offers a path forward. It is about moving through and beyond the status quo.

I am proud to be a co-author with the incredible Drs. Landesman and Rubenstein and a part of this process, as we engage meaningfully and leverage cautious but realistic optimism. There is evidence of previous successes, with an intermittent but consistent history of cooperation. The United States continues to support the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA). We can look to the work of Project Rozana, the Canada International Scientific Exchange Program, and other programs as examples and for lessons learned.

These concepts and methods have a proven track record, as seen during the troubles in Northern Ireland and the eventual Good Friday Agreement of 1998 though far more projects had been undertaken between Ireland and Northern Ireland compared with Israel and Palestine.

It is critical that the United States and global community support initiatives. Israeli and Palestinian health professionals must look to past relationships. We need to engage likeminded leaders who eschew principles of one-sidedness, distrust, and hatred in order to expand programs with transparency and measurable accountability.

In the post-October 7^th era, with the Israel-Hamas war raging, some opponents would prefer to lean into their oppositional instincts, rather than constructive ways to improve health within Israel and Palestine. Cooperation is more essential now than ever. It has long been understood that much work would be needed, but now even more work will be needed to build trust and to create opportunities in public health and healthcare as a bridge to peace. “Peacebuilding through Cooperation in Health Care and Public Health between Israel and Palestine” ideally offers first steps in the path to bridging communities and addressing health.

About the Author

Brian S. Englander: Brian S. Englander, MD, is the Robert E. Campbell Professor of Clinical Radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine and serves as Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Medicine. He is a board certified, fellowship-trained diagnostic radiologist, with sub-specialization in breast imaging and intervention. He has a particular interest in addressing women's health inequities regionally and globally. As a 2018 Eisenhower Fellow (USA), he visited Mongolia and Israel to understand cultural, religious, and ethnic barriers to health care, in particular breast cancer, and opportunities to address these barriers in the United States. He established an NGO, Benek Global Health Project, which focuses on these same issues, as well as the impact of conflict upon healthcare.. He is actively engaged in both clinical and research work and education in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. He currently is working to establish mobile cancer screening through Penn Medicine to address health inequities and access issues in the Philadelphia region and has plans in place to use the mobile cancer screening, diagnosis, and management process in specific regions.