Swedish hospitals suffer two legal failures after anti-Semitism
The long-running issue of deep-rooted anti-Semitism directed at a Jewish surgeon at Karolinska University Hospital near Stockholm resulted in two stabbing legal defeats for the management of the health center, Jerusalem Post can only report.
The Post received a six-page letter dated October 11, sent by the Lawfare Project, a New York City-based NGO, which described “pervasive anti-Semitism that seems to have been normalized and systematized at Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet.”
The letter noted that “We are particularly concerned about the appalling treatment of one of your Jewish doctors.” The Lawfare Project uses legal measures to “justify the civil and human rights of Jewish people throughout the world.”
As for the Jewish doctor who is alleged to have endured anti-Semitism, the Lawfare letter to Karolinska Hospital and Institute said that “In January 2020, DO [Discrimination Ombudsman] ended its inspection process and concluded that Karolinska had not met its legal requirements to investigate complaints of harassment. Karolinska should have investigated Doctor X’s complaint already in June 2017 but failed to do so. This omission means that Karolinska has not fulfilled its obligations under Sweden’s discrimination law. ”
The letter added: “Karolinska failed to address the complaint and acted appropriately to prevent the ongoing damage. In addition, Karolinska’s alleged internal investigations were subject to a number of irregularities identified by the Swedish Government’s Discrimination Ombudsman.”
According to the letter, “2017, Dr. [X] reported that he and other Jewish employees of the Department of Neurosurgery were subjected to anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination by their supervisor, the chairman of Neurosurgery … The harassment campaign included publishing anti-Semitic statements and photos on Facebook and using classic anti-Semitic tropes to refer to Jewish doctors – to example and pointed out, “the Jewish ghetto goes”, about Jewish doctors. Dr.[X] was told that he has a “Jewish nose”, is stingy and “whines like a Jew.”
The Lawfare Project cited parallels between the hospital’s treatment of the surgeon, who does not want to reveal his name, and Nazi Germany’s anti – Semitism.
According to the Lawfare Project, the second legal victory centered on the hospital’s false retaliation against the surgeon.
“In retaliation for complaining about anti – Semitism, Karolinska filed an unfounded complaint against Dr.[X] to the Swedish Health and Care Inspectorate, claiming that he posed a risk to patient safety. In a shocking display of Karolinska’s institutionalized hatred of Jews, the complaint identified Dr. X. “Reporting Jewish identity as” relevant information “for patient safety is not only morally abominable but also appears to be illegal under Swedish law,” wrote the Lawfare Project.
The letter continued that “The second of Karolinska’s alleged investigations was interrupted when Karolinska, in a clear violation of Swedish law, demanded that employees register on a Jewish list in order to participate in the investigation. Creating lists of Jews is a particularly frightening reminder of Sweden’s terrible treatment of Jews in the 1930s when the Swedish government asked Nazi Germany to stamp the Jews’ passports with a ‘J’ so that Jewish refugees could be denied entry to Sweden. These so-called “investigations” by Karolinska highlight the systemic, institutional nature of anti-Semitism: regulators are given free rein to engage in open hatred of Jews, which is minimized and trivialized (if not directly covered) by their colleagues and other bad actors within Karolinska. “
Gerard Filitti, Senior Counsel for The Lawfare Project, told Posten that “It is frightening to see a doctor subjected to anti-Semitism and reprisals by an uninformed Karolinska who has apparently ignored and covered up systemic anti-Semitism for over four years. the Swedish government’s promise at Malmö Forum to fight anti-Semitism, it should take immediate action to end Karolinska’s persecution of Jews. ”
The Lawfare Project wrote that “We expect that Karolinska will immediately and completely restore Dr. [X]to his previous positions, with the salary and benefits to which he is entitled. We also expect Dr. [X]will be reimbursed in respect of the reduced salary and additional costs he has had to bear as a result of Karolinska’s reprisals against him. Karolinska must stop targeting him because he is a Jew and for speaking out against the anti-Semitism he experienced. The reprisals he has experienced must end immediately, and Karolinska must agree to a corrective program to educate all staff and employees about the legal and social prohibitions against anti-Semitism. “
Asked about the Lawfare Project letter and its demands, Björn Zoëga, CEO of Karolinska University Hospital, said, “Karolinska University Hospital exercises zero tolerance for anti-Semitism. The hospital’s guidelines in this area are very clear and any violations are taken very seriously.
Unfortunately, anti-Semitic views exist in society. Fighting anti-Semitism and expressing such views is therefore a high priority for Karolinska. The hospital runs a portfolio of measures and initiatives to prevent and address the expression of anti-Semitic views, including e.g. training initiatives, structured dialogue and annual employee surveys. Based on this, we can further improve our preventive measures. ”
Zoëga added that “The case you are referring to is being handled actively and relates to the situation of an individual employee, and I am therefore not free to comment on the specific circumstances you are referring to. However, I can assure you that the hospital is actively handling the case to achieve the best possible solution. “
The human rights organization The Simon Wiesenthal Center included Karolinska Hospital, where the Nobel Prize in Medicine is announced every year, in its ten worst outbreaks of anti-Semitism in 2018. The hospital was named number nine on the list for its systematic discrimination against three Jewish doctors. The head of the health center’s neurosurgery blocked Jewish doctors from helping their patients and hindered their research, according to Wiesenthal. The head of the neurosurgery department published “obvious anti-Semitism” on his Facebook page, Wiesenthal said at the time.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, deputy dean of the Wiesenthal Center, said in 2018 that “We are shocked by Karolinska’s sluggish response to the cancer of anti – Semitism. So far, powerful bigots have been protected and life-saving Jewish doctors have been left twisted in the winds of hatred.”
Karolinska Hospital is affiliated with Karolinska Institutet. The Lawfare Center letter was also addressed to Karolinska Institutet.
Dr. Ole Petter Ottersen, CEO of Karolinska Institutet, told Posten that “You must contact Karolinska University Hospital regarding this. The person you are referring to has not been employed at Karolinska Institutet. The hospital is managed by the Stockholm Region (Stockholm County) and Karolinska Institutet is state-run. medical university. ”
A spokesperson for Karolinska Institutet said, “First of all, we want to state that Karolinska Institutet does not accept anti-Semitism and that any form of discrimination is taken seriously. There are also legal obligations for an employer to take measures against discrimination under the Discrimination Act. Karolinska Institutet has no part in the alleged discrimination. Karolinska Institutet has not taken any measures or otherwise limited its research or work. The Gender Equality Ombudsman’s investigation only covered incidents at Karolinska University Hospital. ”
The Lawfare Project cited a list of anti-Jewish acts in its letter. “It speaks for itself that the former acting CEO of Karolinska University Hospital, Dr Annika Tibell, proclaimed that doctors were free to engage in anti-Semitism on social media, as long as they did so in their spare time. Jewish employees are forced to endure anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination (such as lower wages) without any hope that Karolinska will do anything to stop it. Karolinska’s actions before Dr. [X] The complaint suggests that Karolinska is more interested in maintaining the status quo and normalizing anti-Semitism than in redeeming its reputation. ”
The Lawfare Project letter noted that as part of the alleged anti-Jewish bias in the hospital that “a third Jewish doctor – an Israeli citizen – apparently worked for ten months without receiving any pay.”