FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2026
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
“Free Dr. Hasan Abu Safiya” Billboard Message Welcomes AMA Conference Attendees in Chicago
The action comes as Israel has moved the kidnapped and tortured doctor to solitary confinement.
CHICAGO – CODEPINK brought its AMA campaign front and center to AMA members attending the annual conference in Chicago. While attendees entered the first day of the conference, they were welcomed with a billboard truck listing off all the war crimes Israel has committed against healthcare professionals with the backing and support of the United States. Today’s action comes just one day after it was reported that Dr. Safiya was moved from a Negev detention centre to solitary confinement in Nafha prison.
Some billboard messages included:
- Israel has Illegally Detained 446 Palestinian Healthcare Workers Since October 2023
- Israel has Killed 1571 Palestinian Healthcare Workers Since October 2023
- Free Dr. Hasan Abu Safiya! Kidnapped and Imprisoned by the Israeli Occupation Since December 2024.
- From the US to Palestine: Medicine is not a crime. \
CODEPINK’s AMA campaign is directed at the American Medical Association’s CEO and Board of Trustees, asking them to speak out against the genocide in Gaza and the war crimes committed by Israel against medical professionals - with direct material support from the United States, including the kidnapping and ongoing detention and torture of Dr. Hasan Abu Safiya.
The AMA has leverage nationally and internationally and should use that leverage to publicly condemn the U.S. and Israel's continuous targeting and killing of medical professionals and medical structures in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Dr. Abu Safiya is but one example. Thousands of paramedics, nurses, and other doctors have been killed in Israel’s numerous attacks on hospitals and medical centers.
In 2022, the AMA released statements condemning Russia’s attacks on healthcare professionals and the targeting of civilians in Russia’s war on Ukraine. However, in the nearly three years since the genocide in Gaza began, the organization has not once said anything about the same crimes committed by Israel with funding from U.S. tax dollars.
The AMA's stated mission is to "promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health." To truly achieve this, one must fight for every physician and every hospital. The campaign is asking the AMA to call for the release of Dr. Abu Safiya and all detained healthcare workers, urge U.S. and Israeli action on his status, demand access to medical care and humanitarian aid for Gaza, push to lift U.S. visa restrictions for patients, and condemn the destruction of healthcare systems from Gaza to Iran.For more information, please contact the campaign organizer, Jenin, at [email protected].
