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The struggle for international recognition of the Red Star of David (Magen David Adom) as a medical neutrality symbol illustrates the complex intersection of Zionism and international humanitarian law. Despite extensive efforts, the symbol faced significant resistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), reflecting broader challenges in aligning a Jewish-Zionist-national identity with global humanitarian standards. This case study also sheds light on the distinctive ethos of the IDF’s medical corps and its commitment to humanitarian efforts worldwide.

Join Penn’s Katz Center, the Weitzman Museum, and ANU for an online lecture series exploring contemporary issues related to health and medicine in Israel. Throughout its history, Israel has earned a reputation for innovation and advancement in medical science, and placed a special focus on public health as part of the state-building enterprise. Learn from experts about how Israeli practitioners and scholars are responding to new challenges including pandemic, trauma, family planning, and more.

Y. Michael Barilan is a practicing physician, expert in internal medicine and a professor at Tel Aviv University’s school of medicine. His focus of research is the intersection between social history of medicine and medical ethics. His books include Human Dignity, Human Rights and Responsibility (MIT Press) and Jewish Bioethics (Cambridge University Press). He co-edited a book on ethics in personalized medicine, (Oxford University press). He was the academic advisor to the first workshops on ethics by the International Commision of Military Medicine (Switzerland), and published and cooperated in the fields of military ethics and ethics in disaster medicine.