The American Academy of Pediatrics Is Still Compromised by DEI

DEI is firmly embedded within American health care, so it’s unsurprising that DEI acolytes in that sector have been especially vocal in their criticism of President Trump’s efforts to dismantle DEI.

True to the postmodern nature of DEI, the efforts to save it are a cacophony of half-truths, distortions, and downright lies. For example, activists regularly and fallaciously claim that black doctors provide better care for black patients and that prioritizing “diversity” and “equity” is therefore a matter of “following the science.”

The focus on “diversity” and “equity” in American health care comes at the expense of rigor and excellence, all to the detriment of patient care. If recent events in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are any indication, “inclusion” efforts are also undermining American health care.

Consider the message sent from AAP leadership to former Secretary of State Antony Blinken on January 8. The AAP was publicly inquiring about the status of Hussam Abu Safiya, whom the AAP referred to as a “pediatrician and the head of Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza.” Notably overlooked in that description is mention of the fact that Safiya is an alleged Hamas colonel, an omission that the ADL and other organizations -- including the American Jewish Medical Association, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and Stand With Us -- rebuked, labeling it a “disservice to AAP’s mission and values” that was “fundamentally compromising the integrity of the Academy.”

Multiple pediatricians who spoke to me on condition of anonymity claim that AAP leadership was reluctant to send the Blinken letter but ultimately folded to intense and persistent lobbying from activists within the organization. These pediatricians describe a fanatical obsession with Israel among DEI personnel, alongside a countervailing pressure from Jewish pediatricians to take a stand against antisemitism. The result is “inclusion” efforts that leave everyone feeling dissatisfied and aggrieved.

These doctors identified the AAP “Section on Minority Health, Equity, and Inclusion” as particularly influential. In what might be seen as demonstration of that influence, the Section sent a letter to AAP President Sue Kressly, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee to commend them on their inquiry about Safiya. The statement -- which either ignores or betrays the feelings of thousands of Jewish members -- applauds the inquiry as a laudable effort in the fight against “Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism.”

The Blinken letter also was lauded by Dr. Mobeen Rathore, a vocal DEI champion and immediate past president of the Florida Chapter of the AAP. Writing in the pages of the Florida Pediatrician, an AAP peer-reviewed publication where he serves as editor, Rathore heaped praise on President Kressly for the letter to Blinken.

Notably, Rathore engages in a pattern of unsavory speech on social media, including reposting comments that celebrate Candace Owens for her “courage to tell the truth” about Jews. While a source close to the situation confirms that the comments were distasteful enough to convince the AAP to scrub Rathore’s profile from the AAP website, they were apparently not distasteful enough to second-guess whether to make his recommendations a matter of AAP policy.

The AAP “Section on Global Health,” popularly now referred to as the “Section on Gaza Health,” is another popular pedestal for anti-Israel advocacy. One of the most vocal members -- the chairwoman of the Diversity and Inclusion Council at a prestigious health system and former chairwoman of an AAP council -- repeatedly used the listserv to launder accusations of genocide against Israel, despite repeated pleas for nuance or disengagement. She also used it to publicly announce the resignation of her membership, calling the organization “irredeemable” and lamenting “the use of the word ‘terrorist’ in a press release to further dehumanize Palestinians.”

The complaint was an apparent reference to a statement published by former AAP President Benjamin Hoffman after months of lobbying from Jewish physicians. Published on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Hoffman’s denunciation of antisemitism begins by acknowledging the one-year anniversary of the “terrorist attack in Israel.”

The public resignation that Hoffman’s statement prompted, I was told by multiple pediatricians active in the AAP, is one of dozens or hundreds that occurred in response to the October 7 statement. The Blinken letter also culminated in a flurry of resignations.

Misadventures into political activism are nothing new for medical organizations generally or the AAP specifically. As I documented in a report published last year, these organizations regularly adopt positions on hot-button issues such as affirmative action, climate change, and immigration.

The latest flare-up is a reminder that medical mission creep -- including or especially when it occurs under the banner of “inclusion” -- is not cost-free. Trust in health care is at or near an all-time low. If medical groups (i.e., the American Jewish Medical Association) believe that the AAP has been “fundamentally compromising” its integrity at the altar of “inclusion,” what does the average patient think?