Crowe also referenced an apartheid-era South African expression, stating that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”
By Shula Rosen
An emergency department doctor in the United Kingdom told a court that it is not “entirely unacceptable” to regard Hamas as “freedom fighters” as he pursues legal action against a National Health Service trust over his suspension following social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The London Evening Standard reported that Dr. Nadeem Crowe is suing the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and its responsible officer, Dr. Jane Hawdon, alleging discrimination and harassment after he was suspended over online comments that appeared to praise Hamas and compare Israeli military actions to terrorism.
Crowe, an A&E doctor with Palestinian family and friends, temporarily lost his bank status at Royal Free Hospital in Camden in August 2024, preventing him from booking shifts after a colleague raised concerns about his social media activity.
According to allegations submitted to the hospital, some of Crowe’s posts were described as “absolutely vile” and accused of “celebrating Hamas and comparing Israel to the Nazis and are very much antisemitic”.
One of the posts cited in court proceedings concerned deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. In response to a social media post about Sinwar, Crowe wrote: “They aren’t terrorists; they are freedom fighters. Israel and the IDF are the terrorists.”
During court testimony, Crowe acknowledged that he believed it was “not entirely unacceptable” to view Hamas as freedom fighters.
He also referenced an apartheid-era South African expression, stating that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”
Crowe further told the court: “The IDF uses terrorist actions and I believe they are terrorists, but that doesn’t automatically describe them as a proscribed group.”
The doctor alleges that the trust subjected him to harassment and direct and indirect discrimination because of what he described as his protected anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian beliefs.
He also claims he experienced race-related harassment as well as direct and indirect racial discrimination.
The case centers on the circumstances surrounding Crowe’s suspension and the trust’s response to complaints regarding his social media posts, which prompted the temporary loss of his ability to accept shifts at the hospital.
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