An NHS doctor accused of anti-Semitism has been suspended for 15 months pending an investigation, the UK's Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) has ruled.
The General Medical Council (GMC) is investigating Dr Rahme Aladwan over posts and comments made on various social media platforms following several complaints, including from the Jewish Medical Association of Great Britain and the Campaign Against Antisemitism.
GMC lawyer Emma Gilsenan told the MPTS hearing that Aladwan's messages contained content that allegedly “justifies terrorism, denies sexual violence, includes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, abuses Holocaust and Nazi imagery and expresses support for banned groups and terrorist acts.”
She added that Aladwan, a British Palestinian trainee in trauma and orthopedics, allegedly called the Royal Free Hospital in London a “cesspool of Jewish supremacy”, praised NHS colleagues for raising concerns about her, and expressed explicit support for banned organizations such as Hamas and Palestine Action.
Gilsenan said it was “unconscionable to suggest that Dr. Aladwan should be allowed to continue to practice.”
Aladwan's lawyer Kevin Saunders said the posts “fall under the category of legitimate political speech and debate” and that she denies making racist or hate speech. He added that “there is no information to suggest that Dr Aladwan poses a real and immediate risk to patient safety.”
In September, the MPTS ruled it would not impose temporary conditions on Aladwan's registration, saying it did not consider the complaints against her “sufficient to establish that there may be a real risk to patients.”
However, tribunal chair Leigh Davies found on Wednesday that her alleged behavior “may affect patients' confidence in both her and the profession and may discourage patients from seeking treatment from her”.
He said that since September, “additional information” had emerged that “may indicate an escalation in the tone and nature of Dr Aladwan's activities and posts, which could be considered extreme, offensive and anti-Semitic.”
Davies said: “The Tribunal considers that the allegations, if found to be proven, are serious and appear to have arisen as a result of the persistent and prolonged posting of potentially egregious material which was widely disseminated by Dr Aladwan, resulting in a number of individual complaints made to the GMC.
“While the tribunal is mindful of Dr Aladwan's rights to freedom of expression, it noted a number of comments that allegedly supported and glorified terrorist acts and organizations, and promoted violent acts and offensive Jewish stereotypes.”
He added that “there have been many complaints” “from individual members of the public and various organizations.”
A 15-month suspension for Aladwan, 31, came into force on Wednesday and will be reviewed within six months.
The GMC and MPTS assess doctors' behavior and decide whether sanctions, including deregistration, are necessary. MPTS Temporary Orders Tribunals decide whether a doctor's practice should be restricted while the GMC investigates, but do not reach their own conclusions.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is seeking to overhaul the way medical regulators investigate cases of antisemitism, saying “the current system of medical regulation is completely failing to protect Jewish patients and NHS staff.”
