The leading membership organization of U.S. social workers called on Tuesday for the field’s largest international body to oppose efforts to expel Israel’s association of social workers, ahead of a planned vote on that question slated for Wednesday. 

The International Federation of Social Workers will vote on Wednesday on a contentious effort to expel the Israeli Union of Social Workers, after some European members complained that Israeli social workers had served in combat roles during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. A petition, organized by several Jewish social work associations, circulated last week urging the U.S.-based National Association of Social Workers and the Canadian Association of Social Workers to come out against the measure garnered more than 12,000 signatures. 

NASW — which boasts more than 120,000 members and claims to be the largest national social work organization in the world — weighed in for the first time with a statement on Tuesday urging IFSW members to vote against the measure in order “to uphold the profession’s core values of unity, dialogue and compassion.” 

“We are deeply surprised and disappointed that our European colleagues, who have not experienced circumstances comparable to those faced by their Israeli counterparts, are now seeking to judge and exclude them,” the NASW said in the statement. “We hope that, should they ever face similar challenges, they are met with the compassion, understanding, and empathy that they are currently denying to their Israeli colleagues.” 

The field of social work, alongside psychology and counseling, has faced growing antisemitism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel. Jewish and Israeli practitioners who are taught to employ compassion and empathy in their work say that they have not received the same support they are expected to offer others. 

The statement from NASW acknowledged these values as central to the profession.

“We urge our colleagues to resist efforts that promote divisiveness or exclusion,” the statements said. “Instead, let us embody the values of compassion, unity and healing that define our profession. Let us focus on constructive engagement, mutual understanding and the co-creation of solutions that honor the dignity and humanity of all.”

The Wednesday vote to expel or suspend Israel’s leading social work organization from the IFSW comes after the body voted to censure Israel last year. The only country to ever be suspended from the IFSW was South Africa, during the apartheid era.