October 7 will go down in history as the day of atrocities that the mind cannot tolerate. The feeling of shock and grief was compounded by a deep sense of disappointment with the behavior of health organizations and women. These, who championed the values of equality and human rights, made us understand that for many of them the values are valid as long as they are not Israeli Jews.
Silence in the face of atrocities was also the province of the ICM, the International Confederation of Midwives. Our direct appeals to the Confederation leadership to condemn Hamas' war crimes went unanswered. Only after exerting pressure did they respond feebly that the organization "does not take part in non-consensual political issues." Yes, apparently rape and murder of Jewish women are controversial issues. There is pain and suffering on both sides, but the war crimes that took place on Black Saturday deserve all condemnation, without "but."
The early signs had popped up months earlier. In June 2023, the International Midwifery Conference was held in Bali, Indonesia. A week before, we received a laconic message from the ICM director-general, explaining that at the request of the host country we would be able to come, but our official presence would be deleted. The Israeli flag will not fly, our name will not be read at the presentation of the delegations, and we will not be able to display under our national identity the special poster we have prepared. After our attempts to change the decision failed, we decided not to participate in an event that excludes us in advance.
After October 7, we realized that the decision to deny us national expression at the Indonesian Congress was not just a constraint imposed by the hosts, but part of an agenda. The conduct of the organization's leaders, most of whom did not hide their reservations about Israel and us, led the Israeli Midwives Association to think deeply about our membership in the international confederation. Should we go with the inclination of heart and justice and leave an organization that does not meet any principle or value it has defined for itself, or deal with and act for change within the organization in the long term?
It is our duty to present Israeliness in international organizations and everywhere else in the world. To make our voices and positions heard, and not to let an extremist and vocal minority get what it wants and erase the Israeli presence from the international community
In a discussion of the Israeli Midwives Association, it was decided by a large majority to remain at ICM, because of the belief that we must not abandon the battle for public opinion. We should not reward those who prefer not to see us and not face our arguments. In the weeks leading up to the decision, we received support and a warm embrace from German midwives, colleagues from Luxembourg and Papua New Guinea also sent letters of support, but apart from them, deafening silence.
We felt that our presence in the organization was important not only to us, but also to our allies, who want to help and need us so that together we can succeed in creating change. We understood that if we left, our place would be taken by those who wanted to promote a discourse of hatred, without anyone standing up to them and being able to lead the moderate majority that is interested in continued cooperation with Israel and its citizens.
We must not be "a people that dwells alone." It is our duty to present Israeliness in international organizations and everywhere else in the world. To make our voices and positions heard, and not to let an extremist and vocal minority get what it wants and erase the Israeli presence from the international community.
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