A journalistic investigation published by Britain's Daily Telegraph, together with troubling findings from a new report by an organization combating antisemitism titled "Antisemitism in the National Health Service," has exposed a pattern of racism, harassment, threats and violence targeting Jewish patients and employees within the UK's public healthcare system.
According to the report, since October 2023, one-third of Jewish people in the UK who required NHS services said they felt uncomfortable because of their Jewish identity or ethnicity. More than 40% of Jewish patients also said they had chosen to conceal their identity out of fear of discrimination or concern that revealing it could negatively affect the quality of medical care they received.
The investigation documents a troubling series of incidents within medical institutions. In one case, a Jewish nurse was reportedly subjected to a Nazi salute by a colleague who remained in his position even after acknowledging what he had done. A senior professor received direct threats against his property and personal safety, while a Jewish emergency-services worker was physically assaulted by a colleague.
One of the most serious testimonies came from Saul Freeman, a Jewish patient who described experiencing antisemitic verbal abuse from a senior doctor during surgery. According to Freeman, while the surgeon was making incisions in his forehead with a scalpel, the doctor began discussing the war in Gaza and said: "The war in Gaza is still ongoing; they are still killing children there. You'd think they would have learned lessons after what happened to them in Europe."
When Freeman carefully asked whom the doctor was referring to, the surgeon replied while continuing the procedure: "The Jews."
"The man holds a scalpel and operates on me. This is the most vulnerable situation a patient can find himself in front of a doctor," Freeman said. "I was hit with real panic, because I didn't know whether he might intentionally hurt me."
Following an official complaint, Dr. Jane McKnicolls, chief medical officer of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the incident was being urgently investigated. She added that the hospital's management takes all allegations of this nature extremely seriously and would take appropriate action based on the findings.
In response to the findings, leaders of organizations in the UK are calling on authorities and senior health officials to take immediate action against antisemitism in medical institutions. They are also demanding strict disciplinary and accountability measures to ensure that all members of the public can receive safe and equal treatment.