Members resign in protest of cancellation by European Network for Mental Health Service Evaluation; Israeli association calls move 'startling, dishonorable'
The cancellation caused an uproar, according to the report, with two members of the executive board announcing their resignation: Bernd Puschner, a professor of psychiatry at Ulm University in Germany, and David Roe, an Israeli professor of psychology at the University of Haifa.
Sylvia Tessler-Lozowick, chairwoman of the Israel Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, called the cancellation “startling” in a protest letter to ENMESH, the report said. She charged that the considerations leading to the decision were ”irrelevant and dishonorable for a professional organization.”
“For some of you, it’s an ideological stance. For others an evasion of unpleasantness generated by the ideologues. Whatever your personal reasons, you have compromised your professional values in the name of political posturing,” Tessler-Lozowick reportedly wrote.
In a response to Haaretz, Slade said that after the decision, “several board members from around Europe subsequently raised concerns about the chosen location, while others were supportive of the venue. In my role as chair, I consulted with many colleagues from within and beyond the ENMESH board, including colleagues in Israel, about the best way forward given the differing views expressed by board members.
“Following this consultation, I concluded that it was on balance in the best interests of ENMESH to change plans,” he said. “While I do recognize that the decision will be seen by some as ideological, it was in fact just a practical decision taken in the best interests of ENMESH. No ‘bullying’ was involved and there is no statement being made about supporting or not supporting a boycott of Israel.”
