This is the full video of my valedictory address to the University of Manitoba Medicine Class of 2024, recorded 16 May 2024.

While my speech was well received by the majority of my classmates, it was described as "divisive" and "inflammatory" by the dean. The school acquiesced to a donor's demand that the speech be scrubbed from the University of Manitoba's website.

In the days following my valedictory address, and in light of the significant criticism the speech received from some quarters, I was contacted by several journalists asking to speak with me. I was out of the country with my family, but I was happy to provide a statement, which I have reproduced below.

Media Statement, 22 May 2024

Every platform is an appropriate platform to call for an end to genocide.

Israel's conduct toward the people of Palestine is overtly genocidal. Top Israeli officials, including both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, have made their genocidal intent clear through both their words and actions. Both have a history of making dehumanizing statements about Palestinians, with Netanyahu describing them as "the people of darkness" and Gallant calling them "human animals".

Countless human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and University Network for Human Rights agree that Israel is carrying out a genocide. South Africa's submission to the International Court of Justice lays out the argument in exhaustive detail, and while we may have to wait years for the ICJ to make a final ruling on this matter, their preliminary finding that genocide is plausible has been well-publicized.

In my valedictory address, I was critical of a national government that is currently engaged in its campaign of collective punishment of the Palestinian people, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. Doctors, nurses, journalists, and even released Israeli hostages have been killed by the IDF, every single hospital in Gaza has been either destroyed, damaged, or put out of service, and Israel's blockade of Gaza is preventing the entry of medical and humanitarian aid, resulting in yet more preventable death. Surgeons are being forced to operate on children without anesthetic, and some doctors in Gaza are refusing evacuation because they know that the IDF will not allow new medical staff in to take their place.

It is frankly incredible to me that advocating for a cessation of hostilities is seen as not only controversial, but somehow hateful. I have been and will continue to be vocally critical of the state of Israel's horrifying and disproportionate response to the awful tragedy of October 7th. But criticism of the actions of the Israeli government does not in and of itself constitute antisemitism. That accusation (which has been levelled not only at me but at countless others) is not only unserious, but it also serves to trivialize the regrettably very real instances of antisemitism that do occur.

I have been asked why I chose to speak out about this particular catastrophe and not any other: why am I not speaking out against the persecution of the Rohingya people, or the climate crisis, or whatever the asker's preferred calamity is. I suspect that this question (a classic example of whataboutism if ever there was one) is not being asked in good faith. But the answer is that when we address ourselves to a problem, we must consider both how familiar we are with its shape and whether we can plausibly effect positive change. If it were otherwise, there would be no medical specialties. Does the cardiologist hate patients with kidney disease? Does the pediatrician wish for adults to remain ill? Of course not. It is absurd to claim that simply because multiple disasters are happening, we cannot talk about any of them in specific, but must instead speak in broad, toothless generalities.

Since my valedictory address, I have received hundreds of messages from doctors, medical students, and members of the public thanking me for my words. I have also received more than my share of harassment and threats. But at the end of the day, I still get to hug my kids, something that so many parents in Gaza will never get to do again.

With respect, humility, and kindness,

Gem Newman (he/him)
Incoming R1, Family Medicine – Bilingual