In bypassing Senate confirmation, Donald Berwick avoided scrutiny
of his belief that Britain’s National Health Service was a mode
for reforming healthcare in America as well as any business
relationships that might overlap with those he will oversee as he
implements Obamacare and Medicare cuts. The ensuing furor
overshadowed Dr. Berwick’s growing involvement with the
international advocacy group, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
PHR was established with funding from the Ford Foundation “to
investigate the health consequences of human rights violations
and work to stop them.”
Two facets of Berwick’s involvement with PHR are noteworthy
in light of his extremely liberal views about the role of
healthcare as a vehicle for social justice and income
redistribution. Berwick began donating thousands of dollars to
PHR in 2000 when the outfit was focusing most, if not all of its,
investigations on Israel’s treatment of terrorists during the
Intifada. For instance, PHR “conducted a medical and forensic
investigation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank from October
20-27, 2000 to investigate allegations of excessive use of force,
including the use of prohibited ammunition in the current
conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators and
authorities.”
In 2002 PHR released another report on the impact of
Israel’s battle against Fatah and terrorists holed up in Jenin.
The PHR investigation added credibility to the false claim that
the IDF massacred the population. It went after Israel in seven
major reports. By comparison it launched one report on Zimbabwe,
five on Sudan, none on Iran or Iraq or North Korea. (PHR also
issued 12 reports on the U.S. and its interrogation of
terrorists). It also gave an award to Eyad Sarraj, a human
rights activist in Gaza who later justified homicide bombings as
a natural response to Ariel Sharon’s election as prime minister
and helped organize the recent flotilla operation. During this
time, Berwick’s contributions to PHR steadily increased.
In 2008 he joined the board of PHR, which must be seen as
an endorsement of the organization’s mission and focus. In doing
so he arrived just as Richard Goldstone, his fellow board member,
was involved with the United Nations in laying the groundwork for
investigating whether Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, initiated in
response to rocket attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas,
constituted war crimes. The following PHR press release all but
accuses Israel of deliberately targeting wounded civilians and
medical facilities. These charges would later be the core of the
Goldstone’s commission report war crimes accusations:
PHR has received recent reports from medical colleagues
and human rights organizations in Israel [my
emphasis] that among other violations, a clearly marked Red
Cross supply truck, pre-coordinated with the IDF for transport,
was nonetheless fired on by Israeli tanks and that the A-Raeiya
Medical Center and clinics, far from military or government
installations in Gaza, were attacked from the air by Israel
causing $800,000 worth of damage and preventing care for
hundreds of Gaza residents.
PHR noted that military violence in as densely populated
a location as Gaza inevitably will cause extensive civilian
casualties, and the organization appealed to both parties to
this conflict to negotiate an immediate ceasefire on
humanitarian and human rights grounds. PHR CEO Frank Donaghue
stated today, “The parties to this horrific conflict are
choking an entire population — threatening access to food,
shelter, medical care, and creating daily terror and
insecurity. No military objectives can justify this.”
During a time when PHR helped coordinate Goldstone’s
activities against Israel, Berwick moved from being just a
contributor to being a board member. Dr. Berwick was not and
should not be held responsible for Goldstone’s actions on behalf
on the UN Human Rights Commission. But he willingly increased his
support for and involvement in an organization that singled out
Israel for human rights abuses and mistreatment of civilians. He
joined the board of PHR at a time when Goldstone was taking a
leading role and PHR’s public statements were framing the central
arguments Goldstone would advance.
At the same time, Berwick was not only lauding Britain’s
National Health Service as a towering example of social justice,
he was
pocketing millions in compensation and free lifetime
health benefits courtesy of the corporations and health interests
he will now both regulate and reward. His involvement in the
anti-Israel PHR will not disqualify him the eyes of his liberal
supporters, particularly among reorganized ranks of the
Journolistas. Indeed, it will likely only lead them to redouble
their coordinated effort on his behalf. You can’t be a true
“progressive” unless you attack Israel or are criticized for
doing so. Today Berwick is their man, in more ways than
one.
