North American Jewish doctors consider their futures amid post- Oct. 7 antisemitism
39% of US Jewish healthcare professionals say they experience antisemitism at work after the Hamas massacre and subsequent war in Gaza, with similar numbers reported in Canada
Ask Jewish doctors in North America about their work and they’ll likely tell you about the antisemitism they have faced since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza last October 7.
“There was a nurse in the OB/GYN my hospital in Philadelphia spreading terrible antisemitic lies around the hospital,” said one physician, who requested to hide his name for fear of retribution. “People in the office were afraid of giving her Jewish patients for fear something bad might happen. A number of staff members complained about her to HR, and we brought it up to the highest levels of the hospital, but nothing was done.”
Things only changed when she waded into American politics. “After the elections, she posted on social media that she hoped everyone who voted for Donald Trump has a miscarriage,” the doctor continued. “Six hours later, she was removed from her position. That was good, but many of the Jewish faculty were upset that the same standard wasn’t applied for what she was saying about Israel.”
These types of incidents are increasingly common in North American medicine. A study published Wednesday by Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs found that 39% of self-identifying Jewish healthcare professionals reported direct exposure to antisemitism within their professional or academic environments. More than a quarter of the 645 respondents reported feeling unsafe or threatened due to antisemitic incidents.
That survey was published just several days after a similar study was released by the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario (JMAO). Its survey of 1,000 medical professionals across Canada found that, while virtually no Jewish doctors experienced severe antisemitism at work before October 7, 39% say they have experienced it in hospitals, and 43% in academic settings.
More than 98% of Canadian Jewish doctors surveyed said they are very worried about the impact of antisemitism on healthcare in the country, and 80% say it has harmed their wellbeing.
Significantly, the study found that many of Canada’s Jewish doctors are reconsidering their futures, with 31% of Jewish doctors in Ontario strongly considering or considering leaving the country.
Some 14% of Jewish doctors have already decreased their teaching roles, with another 31% considering reducing their academic roles, the JMAO report added.
The problem is similar on both sides of the border, noted Michelle Stravitz, CEO of the American Jewish Medical Association (AJMA), which was formed last year in response to growing antisemitism after October 7.
“We’re seeing antisemitism in all spheres, in relationships with colleagues, patients, and medical students,” Stravitz said. “We see repeated patterns of healthcare platforms being hijacked by anti-Israel agenda and medical students ready to abandon the Hippocratic Oath to advance an anti-Zionist agenda. It’s creating fear and harming trust for Jews across the medical field.”
Jews enjoy an outsized representation in the medical field. A 2005 study published on the US National Library of Medicine website found that Jews, who comprise about 2% of the country’s general population, account for 14% of the nation’s physicians. In Canada, a 1991 census indicated that four out of ten doctors and dentists in Toronto were Jewish.
Now, however, many Jewish medical professionals say antisemitism in the workplace is a constant threat. “I was in the operating room during a time where there was an incursion into Gaza, and during the procedure, the surgeon started talking to me about why the Jews invaded Palestine,” one doctor said in a testimony compiled by the JMAO.
“A patient left me offensive messages and voicemails, telling me that he wouldn’t see me because I was a Jew,” said another. Another said, “A patient tried to force me to agree with their anti-Zionist views while I was trying to do my work.” “Our annual Chanukah lighting ceremony was canceled,” said another.
A separate report published last week in the Journal of Religion and Health found that more than 75% of Jewish-identifying medical students and professionals in the United States reported exposure to antisemitism. The survey, spearheaded by Dr. Daniella Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh, found that references to antisemitism in US medical publications and social media accounts increased five-fold since October 7, while the use of antisemitic stereotypes increased 2-4-fold.
Some are concerned about the damage a sustained environment of antisemitism could do to the future of medicine.
“Everyone is talking about the 31% that are considering leaving Canada, but just as concerning are the 46% of physicians who have said they are considering, or have already, decreased their teaching roles,” said Dr. Barry Pakes, a physician and professor at the University of Toronto. “Jewish doctors are afraid to teach students and Jewish students are afraid to be in class with their colleagues and antisemitic teachers”. Pakes said. “Canada has a shortage of doctors, and we are opening up new medical schools around the country. If Jewish doctors feel uncomfortable supervising students, that can have an impact on the entire medical system.”
Stravitz noted anecdotal data indicating that Jewish enrollment in US medical schools has been falling in recent years, “although it is possible that there are just fewer students self-identifying as Jews for fear of being singled out,” she said.
“Discrimination doesn’t just impact doctors,” JMAO chair Ayelet Kuper noted in a statement. “It undermines the entire healthcare system, compromising patient care and eroding workplace integrity.”
While antisemitism has been rearing its ugly head in virtually every profession, Pakes said there is something uniquely offensive about its appearance in the medical sphere. “We doctors pride ourselves on being evidence-based, science-oriented people. Many of us are also social justice leaders attuned to the needs of vulnerable minority groups,” he explained. “It is particularly hurtful that we are no longer welcome in those spaces.”
“We work in close collaboration with colleagues from all walks of life, and we expect that they care about us as individuals, even if antisemitism in general doesn’t concern them,” Pakes continued. “It is shocking to be spurned by colleagues who have shown themselves to be so passionately antisemitic and disconnected from the facts.”
Pakes, who wears his kippah publicly at work, said he gets mixed reactions from patients and colleagues. “The response I get is usually positive, but many of my colleagues have differing experiences,” he said. “The importance of surveys like these is that instead of highlighting individual incidents, they help quantify the collective trauma that thousands of doctors are experiencing.”
