Swedish hospital department head quits after alleged anti-Semitic bullying

The head of a department at a Swedish university hospital resigns from his post following reports in the media about a physician’s uninterrupted bullying of Jewish staff.

The former manager left Karolinska University Hospital near Stockholm due to “a combination of personal reasons, but also because he has not handled the situation [efficiently] enough,” Annika Tibell, the hospital’s director, tells Sveriges Television, the broadcaster reported Tuesday. The department head is not named in the report.

In October, the California-based Simon Wiesenthal Center leveled accusations against a surgeon from Tibell’s hospital of anti-Semitic bullying, the Aftonbladet daily reports.

Management at Karolinska knew about the “obvious and open anti-Semitism” expressed by the physician to at least one Jewish employee since February, but the complaints were “ignored,” Cooper wrote in the letter. At least two other Jewish employees quit until only the one mentioned by the Simon Wiesenthal Center remained, Cooper said.

Tibell tells Aftonbladet that the institution has a “zero tolerance for all types of harassment and offensive treatment.” She also says that “relevant investigative measures” are taken when “misunderstandings arise.” According to Aftonbladet, Karolinska has launched an internal investigation and asked outside council to review the complaints.

The report in Aftonbladet does not elaborate on the alleged harassment. Cooper said he wasn’t at liberty to recount it to protect the identity of the alleged victim, who wishes to remain anonymous.

— JTA