The Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva is contributing to the genocide in Gaza and the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. In doing so, the company is contributing to the violation of international law.
Stop Teva! is a collaboration between Doctors for Gaza and BDS Netherlands. We call on patients and healthcare providers not to be indirectly complicit in the genocide in Gaza and the oppression of Palestinians, and to stop buying Teva medications as much as possible. See the call to action at the end.
With hundreds of subsidiaries in 33 countries, including the Dutch company Pharmachemie, Teva manufactures more than 1,000 types of medications—primarily “generic” drugs, which are cheaper versions of the original brand-name drugs. The economic importance of the group to Israel is enormous. Although more than 90% of its revenue comes from abroad, the taxes on that revenue primarily benefit the Israeli state.
Teva supports the genocide
Teva supports the genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. According to its CEO, Teva is “the voice of Israel” during the war. For example, soldiers who work at Teva continue to receive their salaries when they are sent to Gaza. Teva also organizes various activities for soldiers, such as mental health support and social events, intended to enable them to return with renewed energy to participate in the genocidal attacks on Gaza and elsewhere. Teva donates supplies to the Israeli occupation army on its own initiative. Every year, Teva pays hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes to the Israeli treasury (in 2024, this amounted to $721 million). Among other things, this money helps fund the Israeli army’s weapons.
Teva’s founder and several of its directors contributed, as soldiers, to the ethnic cleansing in Palestine both before and after the establishment of Israel in 1948. Partly due to its special ties with the Israeli state, Teva enjoys a very strong political, fiscal, and commercial position in Israel. Teva contributes billions to the Israeli apartheid state and invests in (government) institutions that work on, among other things, the development of weapons, drones, and surveillance technology, which are used for genocide in Gaza and human rights violations in the West Bank. (more on the above here)
Teva profits from apartheid
Teva is of great importance to the Israeli economy, which serves as a foundation and justification for Israel’s policies of occupation, colonization, and genocide. In turn, the company benefits directly from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, as Israel gives Teva’s medications priority in that market. Due to Teva’s monopoly position, Palestinians are dependent on Israel for their medication. Palestinians are forced to purchase products from the occupying power. In this way, they are deprived of their right to medical self-determination.
BDS Netherlands, together with Doctors for Gaza, is calling for pressure to be exerted on TEVA. The international campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) aims to pressure Israel into respecting the rights of Palestinians.
Teva is an accomplice
Immediately following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Teva’s website posted a statement of unconditional support for the Israeli government and military. Shortly thereafter, the Israeli government publicly decided to cut off Gaza’s supply of medicine, water, food, and fuel.
Over the past two years, Israel has systematically and deliberately destroyed the healthcare sector in Gaza. Virtually nothing remains standing. No hospitals, no health centers for trauma care, surgeries, dialysis, maternity care, or anything else. The Israeli military has also targeted doctors, nurses, and paramedics. They and their family members are being killed, imprisoned, and humiliated.
As a result, people are currently dying from common illnesses, hunger, contaminated water, and injuries. Over the past year, life expectancy in Gaza has dropped from 75 to 40 years.
The few foreign doctors who have come here describe an unprecedented nightmare that is unfolding. This physical and mental trauma will continue to affect people for generations to come.
Teva has never spoken out against the deliberate destruction of the population of Gaza. This makes the company complicit in genocide. This includes their European headquarters in Haarlem.
Dead silence
Nor did the company speak out when it became clear that Israel had targeted Palestinian hospitals under false pretenses (such as the alleged presence of Hamas tunnels). It bombed many hospitals and health centers, such as Al-Ahli Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital, Al-Rantisi Hospital, and Al-Shifa Hospital. The Israeli occupation army demanded that entire hospitals be evacuated, including ICUs with terminally ill and often seriously wounded patients, as well as thousands of displaced civilians who had sought refuge on the hospital grounds. The grounds of Al-Shifa Hospital turned into a mass grave for deceased patients and the wounded, who could not be buried due to the bombardments.
Al-Shifa Hospital after the Israeli bombing in 2023
Reports are pouring in from organizations such as Doctors Without Borders about the dire situation and the countless deaths and injuries caused by Israeli bombs and snipers. This week, the Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital was bombed again. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the incident took place late Tuesday evening when the upper floors of the hospital building were attacked three times within minutes. Al-Rantisi Hospital specializes in treating children, including infants, with cancer, kidney disease, and disorders of the respiratory and digestive systems. Nearly half of all patients had to leave the clinic, causing their treatment to be interrupted, due to the attack, the ministry said.
With this campaign against Teva, we hope to make it clear that:
- Teva is inextricably linked to the State of Israel and the oppression of the Palestinians;
- Teva exploits its monopoly position in the apartheid state, thereby driving Palestinian pharmaceutical companies out of the market;
- Teva supports the army that is carrying out genocide in Gaza.
The goal of this campaign:
- To make patients and healthcare providers aware of their “involuntary” complicity when they take Teva medications; and
- Then encourage them to demand an alternative to these medications.
What can you do?
As a patient:
- Please ask your pharmacy, drugstore, or healthcare provider not to prescribe, dispense, or purchase Teva medications. A sample letter and accompanying fact sheet are available at www.stopteva.nl.
- Take a critical look at the medications your pharmacy or drugstore provides. If you’re offered a medication from Teva, ask for the same medication from a different brand, and explain why.
- Ask your pharmacy to make a note in your file that you would prefer not to receive Teva products. That way, your pharmacist can take this into account in the future.
- For over-the-counter products available at drugstores, such as zinc oxide ointment or acetaminophen (see the list here), there are always alternatives.
If your pharmacist cannot or is not allowed to offer an insured person an alternative medication because the health insurer does not cover it, you must accept the medication. However:
- If so, file a complaint with your insurer. You can explain that you have moral objections to purchasing Teva products. You can find the contact information and complaint forms for all insurers here.
- You can explain that you have moral objections to purchasing Teva products. If enough people send complaints, it will send a strong message to health insurers. If you have filed a complaint, please let us know which insurer you filed it with by sending a message to [email protected]. We will compile these complaints to draw the attention of healthcare providers and insurers to the widespread criticism of Teva’s medications. If enough people send complaints, it will send a strong signal to health insurers.
As a healthcare provider?
- Take your patients seriously when they talk about their “forced” role in the genocide in Gaza—because they have to take Teva medications—and help them find an alternative.
- Ask your colleagues to stop purchasing Teva. See the sample letters and the accompanying information for pharmacies and health insurers.
Everyone
- Share the campaign, organize a flyer distribution drive—for example, during a sit-in—and put up posters. Printable posters and flyers are available at www.stopteva.nl.
- Are there any pro-Palestine groups active in your area, or is there an “Apartheid-Free Zone”? If so, ask them to include Teva in their campaigns! Groups of healthcare providers and patients in various cities across Belgium and the Netherlands have already started doing this.
For more information about Teva’s involvement or about this campaign, please visit www.stopteva.nl. If you have any questions about BDS Netherlands’ activities for this campaign (or how to get involved), please email [email protected].
Want to stay up to date via social media? Then follow us at @BDS_Nederland and @stopteva.nl on Instagram.
And sending a copy to [email protected] will let us know how much interest there is in our campaign.
Please note: This campaign is not intended to encourage you to simply stop taking your Teva medications. Never stop or switch your medications without consulting your doctor or pharmacist.