“The growth of antisemitism in the healthcare sector is a hazard not only for healthcare providers, trainees, and students, but for everyone who depends on the American healthcare system.”
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) alleging Boston Medical Center (BMC) discriminated and retaliated against a Jewish Israeli mental health counseling intern, a U.S. permanent resident, after the intern reported to her superiors the posting of antisemitic material in shared office space.
The complaint states that Boston Medical Center violated a federal civil rights law by ostracizing the intern and issuing her a negative evaluation.
Most of the materials – including posters that included statements such as “They killed our babies” and “They stole our lands,” all of which were visible from her desk – were gone when she returned from a trip to Israel about a month later.
However, the hospital allegedly allowed clinical staff to retaliate and ostracize the intern, and she was physically separated from the rest of her clinical team.
Ultimately, after allegedly refusing to allow the intern to withdraw and instead prompting her early exit from the program, Boston Medical Center staff gave her a negative evaluation at the end of the placement, preventing her from receiving academic credit or listing the experience on her resume.
Rebecca Harris, a litigation staff attorney at the Brandeis Center, said the evaluation “included some negative scoring and comments that blamed her for the environment that she was experiencing as a result of the ostracization from her colleagues,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
“As a result of that negative evaluation, she hasn’t been able to list her BMC supervisors as references,” Harris said.
According to the complaint, one supervisor reportedly claimed the separation was intended to ensure that “everyone feels safe.”
“The growth of antisemitism in the healthcare sector is a hazard not only for healthcare providers, trainees, and students, but for everyone who depends on the American healthcare system. The problem is not just that Jewish Americans are now facing exclusion, retaliation, and hostility because of their identity, especially if they have come from Israel,” Brandeis Center founder and chairman Kenneth L. Marcus said in a statement on Tuesday. “The broader problem is that Americans will be denied the best available healthcare if top young professionals are marginalized and excluded from health programs because of their Jewish background, as we saw a century ago.”
Please contact the proper channels not only to help the intern, whose entire career is being threatened, but to prevent the continuation of such outrageous anti-Jewish and anti-Israel discrimination.
Your Voice Matters!
Write to the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights at OCRComplaint@hhs.gov.
Sample letter:
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to express my concern regarding allegations that Boston Medical Center violated federal civil rights laws by discriminating against a Jewish Israeli mental health counseling intern. As detailed in a complaint filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR), the intern was allegedly ostracized and ultimately received a negative evaluation because of discrimination and antisemitism.
According to the complaint, Boston Medical Center violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin, as well as Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which extends those protections to federally funded health programs.
Rebecca Harris, a litigation staff attorney at the Brandeis Center, said the evaluation “included some negative scoring and comments that blamed her for the environment that she was experiencing as a result of the ostracization from her colleagues.”
The Brandeis Center has stated that “the growth of antisemitism in the healthcare sector is a hazard not only for healthcare providers, trainees, and students, but for everyone who depends on the American healthcare system.”
Brandeis Center founder and Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus added: “The problem is not just that Jewish Americans are now facing exclusion, retaliation, and hostility because of their identity, especially if they have come from Israel. The broader problem is that Americans will be denied the best available healthcare if top young professionals are marginalized and excluded from health programs because of their Jewish background, as we saw a century ago.”
Together with the Brandeis Center, I urge HHS OCR to carefully review these allegations and take appropriate action. It is important to ensure that all students can participate equally in federally funded healthcare programs without discrimination or retaliation.
Sincerely,
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