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https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-doctors-reject-ihra-definition-and-back-protections-staff-speaking-palestinePublished by: MIDDLE EAST EYE on 25 Jun 2026
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The British Medical Association (BMA) has voted to drop the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, saying it had a “chilling effect” on free speech in the workplace. Doctors from across Britain backed the motion at the BMA’s annual conferenceon Tuesday, amid growing concerns that healthcare workers are being punished for expressing views on international conflicts.
The motion called on the doctors’ union to “provide urgent guidance and support to members who face disciplinary action or professional detriment for expressing legitimate political views or ethical concerns about international conflicts, including Palestine/Israel”.
The text also urged NHS England and NHS organisations to conduct “comprehensive risk assessments” before implementing policies that could affect employees’ freedom of expression.
NHS England formally adopted the IHRA definition in October 2025, a move that was welcomed by some Jewish [...]
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Who are Middle East Eye?Middle East Eye (MEE) is a United Kingdom-based media website and channel that primarily focuses on news related to the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader Muslim world.
What is Antisemitism?Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Antisemitic tendencies may be motivated primarily by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. There are various ways in which antisemitism is manifested, ranging in the level of severity of Jewish persecution. On the more subtle end, it consists of expressions of hatred or discrimination against individual Jews and may or may not be accompanied by violence. At the extreme, it consists of pogroms or genocide, which may or may not be state-sponsored. Historically, most of the world's violent antisemitic events have taken place in Europe, where modern antisemitism began to emerge from antisemitism in Christian communities during the Middle Ages.
What is Free Speech?Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The term "freedom of expression" is sometimes used synonymously but includes any act of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. Freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 19 of the UDHR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice".
Where is Palestine?Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Israel, and in some definitions, some parts of western Jordan. The name was used by ancient Greek writers, and it was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the territory claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land or Promised Land. Historically, it has been known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham, and the Levant. Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria and Arabia, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics.
