Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Jewish healthcare professionals and trainees in the West have reported an increase in antisemitic experiences in clinical workplaces and instructional settings. Antisemitism in healthcare operates through traditional stereotypes, tropes, insinuations, and anti-Zionist and anti-Israel political framings that render Jewish identity suspect, conditional, or illegitimate. These dynamics usually surface not as explicit slogans but as informal exclusion, boundary violations, and institutional non-response.

Anti-Jewish discrimination was legitimized within healthcare institutions across the West well into the mid-twentieth century, including admissions quotas limiting Jewish enrollment and systematic exclusion from hospital positions.[1] In the decades following the Second World War, labor shortages, political pressure, and evolving professional norms contributed to the weakening and eventual abandonment of restrictive institutional practices. In the United States, scrutiny of admissions quotas and the growth of public universities that did not enforce such quotas facilitated gradual change, reinforced by anti-discrimination laws in the 1960s and 1970s.[2] In Canada, the dissolution of quotas occurred less uniformly and was phased out over time by individual universities.[3]

In present-day healthcare environments, a substantial share of reported anti-Jewish discrimination is not institutional but rather involves microaggressions – insults, slights, and derogatory comments or behaviors that create a hostile environment. Such comments or behaviors are difficult to address precisely because they are often framed as humor, curiosity, or political “discussion,” or minimized and explained away.

Recent studies and reports from the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia raise concern. Michelson and colleagues found in their 2025 study of Jewish healthcare providers in the United States that 39.2% of respondents reported experiencing antisemitism in their work environment, and 26.4% reported feeling threatened or unsafe.[4] Fishman and Auerbach report that, compared to community hospitals, working in an academic medical center increased the odds of experiencing antisemitism by 381%, while private practice increased the odds by 241%.[5] Schwartz and colleagues reported that nearly 90% of Jewish healthcare professionals and students in the United States experienced antisemitism after October 7, compared with roughly 40% before that date.[6] Posts by self-identified healthcare professionals sharing antisemitic content increased in the United States during 2023–2024.[7] Specifically, posts by healthcare providers invoking the claim that Israel harvests blood and/or organs from Palestinians increased by 2.6-fold.[8]

In Canada, Dr. Ayelet Kuper, a physician and professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, published in April 2023 an account of her experience serving as Senior Advisor on Antisemitism (June 2021 – June 2022) in her Faculty. Kuper recalled how she “overheard faculty colleagues complaining about ‘those Jews who think their Holocaust means they know something about oppression,’ [and] about non-Jewish students who thought a Jewish classmate had the power to block their residency matches.”[9] Among the instances of antisemitism she personally experienced were “being told that all Jews are liars; that Jews lie to control the university or the faculty or the world, to oppress or hurt others, and/or for other forms of gain; and that antisemitism can’t exist because everything Jews say are lies, including any claims to have experienced discrimination.”[10]

In 2024, Gil Kazevman, an Israeli student in the same faculty at the University of Toronto, described experiences beginning at the application stage.[11]

He reported being encouraged to remove references to Israel from his CV to improve acceptance prospects, and described encounters that included overt antisemitism (including Holocaust denial) alongside hostility framed as anti-Israel animus, including being declared an enemy when his nationality became known.[12]

In May 2025, medical school applicants in Quebec were reported to have posted antisemitic content on a public Discord server. Screenshots included remarks such as “you can trust me as long as you don’t have a kippah under your wig,” and “you gotta look like this during interview time,” accompanied by an image of an Orthodox Jewish man.[13]

A survey of Jewish healthcare providers in Quebec found that 45% reported experiencing antisemitism at work after October 7, compared to 34% before; 30% indicated this occurred weekly.[14]

Comparable concerns about antisemitic experiences were made by Jewish health providers in Australia and Britain.[15] In Australia, in February 2025, two healthcare workers were suspended after making antisemitic remarks on a TikTok livestream.[16] One stated: “You have no idea how many Israeli dog(s) came to this hospital and I send them to Jahannam [Hell].”[17]

In the UK, a National Health Service (NHS) surgeon was removed from his job and had his medical license revoked in 2025 for comments he made following the October 7 attack. Among his remarks: “When dealing with circumcised vermin like you, not even the strongest measures will help […].”[18]

In response to reported increases in antisemitism, several Jewish professional associations have been established, including The American Jewish Medical Association (AJMA) and the Association of Jewish Doctors of Quebec (AMJQ).[19]

These organizations have advocated for institutional recognition of antisemitism as a professional issue, reflecting a perception that existing channels have often been inadequate for documenting and addressing the problem.

The effects of antisemitism in healthcare extend beyond immediate incidents. Repeated exposure to bias can shape workplace climate, professional behavior, and the functioning of clinical teams. Some providers report persistent identity-based stress and hypervigilance, including speech-monitoring, avoidance of personal or religious disclosure, and continual assessment as to which colleagues and supervisors are safe.[20]

Such strategies are best understood as adaptive responses to environments perceived as unpredictable or hostile.

Jewish patients are also affected. A report from Australia noted that some have described taking steps to conceal their identity in healthcare settings, including removing visible Jewish symbols, avoiding Hebrew names, or changing names on hospital intake forms out of fear of biased treatment.[21]

Such actions reflect a breakdown of trust at moments of vulnerability. Patient trust depends not only on technical competence. Patients need to have confidence that the medical staff provides them equitable and neutral care.[22]

Lindsay MacKinnon and Mazal Van Dam

[1] Rael D. Strous, “Antisemitism and the History of Medicine: The Challenge Then and Now,” IMAJ 12 (April 2010), pp. 229-230, https://www.ima.org.il/FilesUploadPublic/IMAJ/0/39/19771.pdf.

[2] Edward C. Halperin, “Why Did the United States Medical School Admissions Quota for Jews End?,” The American Journal of the Medical Sciences 358, no. 5 (2019), pp. 317–325, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjms.2019.08.005

[3] Joanna Krongold, In Their Own Words: Jewish Doctors, Antisemitism, and the Restrictive Quota System at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine (Toronto: Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 2022), https://temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/sites/default/files/inline-files/In_Their_Own_Words_JKarongold_2022_c.pdf

[4] KN Michelson et al., “Antisemitism in American Healthcare: A Survey Study of Reported Experiences,” Journal of General Internal Medicine 40, no. 8 (2025), https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s11606-024-09159-x.

[5] Alexandra Chana Fishman and Charles Auerbach, “Antisemitism in American Healthcare: The Role of Workplace Environment,” Journal of Religion and Health (2025), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-025-02330-6.

[6] Daniella M. Schwartz, Rotem Leiba, et al., “Social Media, Survey, and Medical Literature Data Reveal Escalating Antisemitism within the United States Healthcare Community,” Journal of Religion and Health 64, no. 1 (February 1, 2025), pp. 206-223, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02191-5.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ayelet Kuper, “Reflections on Addressing Antisemitism in a Canadian Faculty of Medicine,” Canadian Medical Education Journal 14, no. 2 (April 8, 2023), pp. 158-170, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10254102/

[10] Ibid.

[11] Gil Kazevman, “Hiding in Canadian Medicine,” Canadian Medical Education Journal 15, no. 4 (August 30, 2024), pp. 118-119, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11415729/.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Mathilda Heller, “Quebec Medical Applicants Post Antisemitic Content to Discord Channel,” The Jerusalem Post, May 11, 2025, https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-853570.

[14] Anne Caroline Desplanques, “Antisemitism: Nearly Half of Quebec’s Jewish Doctors Targeted in Our Hospitals [French],” Le Journal de Québec, February 7, 2025, https://www.journaldequebec.com/2025/02/07/pres-de-la-moitie-des-medecins-juifs-du-quebec-subissent-lantisemitisme-dans-nos-hopitaux.

[15] Michael Gordon, Jerome Teitel, Ted Rosenberg, Ruth Oratz, et al., “Antisemitism in Medicine: An International Perspective,” Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal 16, no. 1 (January 30, 2025), https://www.rmmj.org.il/issues/65/articles/1949.

[16] Canaan Lidor, “Aussie Medical Staff Suspended for Anti-Israel Hate Speech,” Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, February 12, 2025, https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/aussie-medical-staff-suspended-for-anti-israel-hate-speech/.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Naomi Canton, “Indian-Origin Surgeon Struck Off UK Medical Register for Antisemitic Comments on Facebook,” Times of India, October 10, 2025, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/indian-origin-surgeon-struck-off-uk-medical-register-for-antisemitic-comments-on-facebook/articleshow/124434782.cms.

[19] Bernie Bellan, “Jewish Physicians in Manitoba Form Association in Response to Antisemitism,” Jewish Post & News, May 24, 2024, https://jewishpostandnews.ca/faqs/rokmicronews-fp-1/jewish-physicians-in-manitoba-form-association-in-response-to-antisemitism/, and AJMA, “About,” https://www.theajma.org/about.

[20] Andrew F. Beck et al., “Standing Up to Antisemitism, Together,” Academic Pediatrics 25, no. 1 (2025), https://www.academicpedsjnl.net/article/S1876-2859(24)00282-1/abstract.

[21] Bruce Hill, “Jewish Patients are Hiding Their Identity,” Australian Jewish News, February 27, 2025, https://www.australianjewishnews.com/jewish-patients-are-hiding-their-identity/

[22] Beck et al., “Standing Up to Antisemitism, Together.”