Dear colleagues:

Over the weekend, the terrorist group Hamas launched a horrific invasion of Israel, an event which has been compared in its suddenness and scale to the 9/11 attacks. At this writing, about 900 Israelis have died in the conflict, about 687 people in the Gaza Strip, and over 100 Israelis have been taken hostage.

Israel has now declared all-out war on Hamas, Iran is voicing support for Hamas’ actions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that this is “just the beginning” of the fighting, and other countries in the region facing the risk of being drawn into the conflict, threatening the lives of even more thousands.

It has been unbearable to watch the videos being released from conflict zone, of Israelis being murdered and kidnapped, of buildings collapsing in the Gaza strip, and the images of mobilization that suggest this conflict could be long. It has been heartbreaking to talk with colleagues in Israel, and with colleagues in North America who have families in Israel, who are worried about friends and loved ones. It has been terrible to think that this could indeed get worse.

I am well aware of the geopolitical and historical complexities of the region, of the horrors inflicted by many on others, and yet nothing condones current day horror, nothing justifies subjecting people to the brutal realities of war, so upending so many lives. This new eruption of violence now adds to the ongoing conflicts in the world. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to wars in Yemen and Syria, to the threat of war in places like Taiwan, we are in an unsettled, and unsettling, moment when the dreams of global peace many had in the wake of the Cold War have given way to the hard realities of politics and human nature that have kept us from the better future we must still believe is possible.

There is no question that these wars are devastating for public health. With each conflict, we see the trauma of populations caught in war zones, the death and injury that can haunt a region for generations. We see the refugees fleeing war, who face their own unique health challenges. We see war’s effect on the environment, the toxic exposures that can poison the land and the people living on it. And we know war has consequences for mental health, creating psychological scars that last for decades.

So, what is our role, as a public health community, when we see the outbreak of war? I have written about this at some length, with the events of the past decade sadly providing many moments for reflection on the meaning of war for our work. In such times, I find myself returning to the core principles of what we do and why we do it.

Fundamentally, we generate scholarship that bears witness. We bear witness to health inequities and the injustices that create them. We bear witness to the history—including the history of war and displacement—that undermines health in the present, as we did yesterday for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. We work to remind the world again and again that war eviscerates human health, as we repeat again and again the values that we should aspire to, towards creating the world we want to live in, one where all can be healthy.

We teach our students so they can take a leadership role in getting us to such a world. In doing so, it is our task to teach the consequences of war, yes, but also to create space for conversation, for listening to one another, for learning how we can bridge the divides that lead to wars in the first place.

Public health is about prevention and that means, among much else, preventing wars. This takes active engagement with solving problems at the local, national, and global level, reflecting our work in the world of practice. Many of our colleagues pursue this work in ways that address war, including what is happening in Israel. It is on us to support them through this moment, to nurture our students, staff, faculty, and alumni engagement in efforts to bring resolution to wars such as this one.

For any staff who are interested in talking about this moment, I will be hosting a staff breakfast on Wednesday at 10:30 am in Founders and online, and a gathering for faculty on Wednesday at 11:30 am in Founders and online. The office of Graduate Student Life and the Activist Lab will also be hosting a gathering for students who wish to discuss this moment on Wednesday at 9:00 am in the Board Room and online.

Our thoughts and hearts are with all our colleagues and friends in the region, and with those who have loved ones there.

Thank you to our community for all you are doing, always, to create a better, healthier world. It matters always, and never more than in these moments.

Warmly,

Sandro

Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH
Dean, Robert A Knox Professor

View all announcements