„Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, aka Doctors Without Borders) has risen to international stature as a result of the volunteer medical assistance it provides to people in underdeveloped countries and in crisis areas around the world. However, over the last few years, the group has branched out to include political advocacy targeting Israel as a component of its international activity. The latest example of this egregious misuse of its humanitarian mandate is the ‚In Between Wars‘ exhibition that the NGO presented in Dubai last November. Following installments in France and Jordan, the piece purported to provide visitors with a view into the lives of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. Instead, ‚In Between Wars‘ served as a mouthpiece for incitement and radicalization.
The exhibition – also available online – refers to the founding of the state of Israel as a catastrophe – the “Nakba” – delegitimizing the very existence of the Jewish state. It goes further and asserts, ‚The history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rooted in the history of colonization in this part of the world, entwined with the world zionist [sic] movement,‘ presenting Jewish Israelis as unwelcome and illegitimate foreigners who belong elsewhere. (…) While ‚In Between Wars‘ indicates the NGO’s embrace of a politicized agenda, what is entirely unclear is how it fits into MSF’s stated goal of providing medical care to those in need. The exhibition makes only passing mention of the process through which Israel grants Palestinians medical permits to reach Israeli medical facilities, instead focusing its attention on Palestinian violence and ‚resistance.‘“ (Yona Schiffmiller: „Why Is ‘Doctors Without Borders’ Prescribing Anti-Israel Propaganda in Dubai?“)