The doctor and other Jewish employees experienced antisemitic abuse, including being told that he has a “Jewish nose.”
By Terri Nir, United with Israel
The Swedish Medical Association is suing Karolinska University Hospital after the firing of a Jewish doctor who says he suffered antisemitic abuse during his tenure, Israel National News reported. He also claims that his Jewish identity was the reason for his dismissal.
According to the report, the doctor filed a lawsuit in 2018, claiming harassment due to antisemitism, and the hospital subsequently fired him, although he is known to be an excellent physician.
Among the complaints documented was that Svensson was told that he has a “Jewish nose,” is stingy and “whines like a Jew.”
Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, less-qualified colleagues were given higher positions and better salaries. He was eventually let go after pointing out the discrimination.
The Lawfare Project, which is involved in the case, said that when the doctor complained about the antisemitism, Karolinska retaliated against him with a “years-long campaign of reprisals to intimidate and silence him.”
According to the hospital, the doctor was dismissed after refusing to follow instructions for an extended period, the report said. The Swedish Medical Association, however, disagrees and says it has filed a motion on his behalf, demanding compensation.
A source in the World Zionist Organization told Ynet that the case is “a new Dreyfus affair,” referring to the notorious antisemitic incident in the late 19th century in which a Jewish officer in the French military was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of spying for Germany.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center included Karolinska University Hospital in its list of the top 10 worst incidents of antisemitism in 2018 over the harassment of three Jewish physicians.
The World Zionist Organization is also supporting the doctor, saying the doctor was a victim of antisemitism. A WZO source told Ynet that the case is “a new Dreyfus affair.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center had placed Karolinska University Hospital on its 2018 Top Ten list of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide.