Health workers Alliance for Palestine (HAP) Raises Grave Concerns over Canadian Healthcare Workers and Educators in the Israeli Military
[Version française] [Sign the Statement]
March 4, 2026
Health Workers Alliance for Palestine (HAP) strongly condemns healthcare workers and academics who serve in the Israeli military – a military that a UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry has determined is engaged in genocide and war crimes.
In recent months, there have been several reports about Canadians who have served in the Israeli military, including service since October 2023. The names of 206 Canadians who have allegedly held roles within the Israeli armed forces have been published online. The list includes some healthcare workers (HCWs) and academics. The most recent update on October 15, 2025 brings the total number of Canadians across all professional backgrounds believed to have served in the Israeli military over the last two years to 49. This revelation was made all the more alarming when, on February 17, 2026, it was reported that more than 1,500 Canadians were serving in the ranks of the Israeli armed forces last year.
Several reports and scientific publications, including an article by the British Medical Journal, have documented acts of torture of Palestinians committed by HCWs in Israeli prisons and military hospitals. While the identities and nationalities of those individuals remain largely unknown, the professional background of individuals enlisting in the Israeli armed forces does not insulate them from complicity in atrocity crimes and other offences.
Patients and learners, especially Palestinians, have every reason to be alarmed and to refuse care and supervision by HCWs and educators with ties to the Israeli military. Being under the care or supervision of a clinician who is or has been a part of the Israeli military, given its record, undermines the clinician-patient and clinician-learner relationship, erodes trust and safety and compromises care and learning.
The participation of HCWs in acts that violate human rights is a serious concern. Such acts are explicitly prohibited by the Canadian Medical Association’s Code of Ethics and Professionalism, to which many provincial medical regulatory bodies subscribe. The code clearly emphasizes that physicians should “never participate in or support practices that violate basic human rights” and should “never participate in or condone the practice of torture or any form of cruel, inhumane, or degrading procedure”. Similar standards apply to various healthcare roles, including Nursing (Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics), Pharmacy (The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities Principles of Professionalism) and the Physician Assistant (PA) profession. The PA Code of Ethics states that PAs must “refuse to participate in or support practices that violate basic human rights”. This principle is echoed in moral, ethical and professional codes regionally and globally. Those who violate such fundamental codes must be held accountable by their respective professional regulatory bodies and community advocates at large.
Canadian healthcare and academic institutions have long fostered a culture of anti-Palestinian racism. By allowing staff to take leaves of absence to join a foreign military engaged in war crimes, these institutions are arguably complicit in enabling these acts. This violation of basic professional codes of conduct is even more concerning when healthcare workers who criticize the Israeli military experience harassment, silencing and intimidation by these very institutions.
We call on institutions and regulatory bodies to exercise their duty to protect the public by enforcing their respective codes of professional conduct and ethics.
Health Workers Alliance for Palestine
Signatories:
- International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) – Canada
- Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA)
- Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
- Doctors Against Genocide (DAG)
- Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)
- Canadian Muslim Healthcare Network (CMHN)
- Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction (TIHR)
- Jews Say No To Genocide (JSNTG)
- Ottawa Healthcare Professionals for Palestine
- Labour for Palestine – Canada
- Doctors for Humanity
- Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council (CMPAC)
- Independent Jewish Voices – Canada
- The Coordinating Council for Palestine (CC4P)
- Paramedics for Palestine
- Health Providers Against Poverty (HPAP)
- Voix Juives Indépendantes – Montréal
- BC Nurses United for Social Justice
- Vancouver Health Care Workers for Palestine
- Health Workers Against Genocide Victoria
- People’s Health Movement – Canada
- Rehab for Palestine
- Independent Jewish Voices – Toronto & York Region chapter
- Simcoe County for Palestine
- Mississauga-Streetsville for Palestine
Health workers Alliance for Palestine (H.A.P.) 