On the ground in the Gaza Strip

CMAJ Editor's response

In a scant few days, CMAJ has received more than 240 letters in response to a pair of news articles that were published March 17. In retrospect, publishing 2 articles on a single subject in one issue, albeit an industry norm, may have made it appear that CMAJ was taking an editorial position on the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is certainly not the case. Rather, we published the articles to provide a perspective on the health-related and health infrastructure consequences of war which is certainly within a medical journal’s purview.

For those who would like to see the health effects better described for people in Israel, we invite submissions on the health related consequences of war, whether in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.

We welcome your insight, and thank you for articulating your opinions.

Paul C. Hébert, MD, MHSc (Epid)
Editor-in-Chief, CMAJ / Rédacteur-en-chef, JAMC

Professor of Medicine (Critical Care), Anesthesiology, Surgery and
Epidemiology, University of Ottawa
Critical Care Physician, The Ottawa Hospital
Senior Scientist, Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI)

CMAJ – medical knowledge that matters

Note: This response has been edited from the original response (posted March 24th, 2009).