Expressions of antisemitism and support for terrorism spewed out in the open at last year’s graduation ceremonies at more than half of America’s top 25 medical schools that train future doctors, according to an explosive new study.
“We identified unprofessional behavior at commencements of top-ranked medical schools consisting of antisemitism and displaying offensive and insensitive symbols and messaging,” wrote study authors Steven Roth of the University of Illinois College of Medicine and Hedy Wald of Brown University Medical School in an article to be published Thursday in the Israel-based Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal.
“There is an urgent need for medical schools in the US to educate medical trainees about the dangers of antisemitism and all forms of hate and insensitivity,” added the two doctors, who are also members of the American Jewish Medical Association.
Much of the study’s evidence came from videos and photos taken of students during the commencement ceremonies.
Banners, buttons and signs were worn or carried that called for institutions to “divest now” from Israel at four schools: Columbia University-Valegos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Harvard, University of California at San Francisco and Stanford, the authors said.
Eight students from Columbia also wore “antisemitic or Offensive Stoles or Keffiyehs,” the study said.
A Columbia spokesperson responded, “Columbia strongly condemns antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our University.
“Since assuming her role in August, Interim President [Katrina] Armstrong and her leadership team have taken decisive actions to reinforce Columbia’s academic mission, make our community safe, and strengthen and clarify our disciplinary processes.”
Some students wore three-part stoles consisting of the Palestinian flag, a keffiyeh and an empty map of Israel, with some with the word Palestine or “Jerusalem Is Ours” written in Arabic adjacent to the map, at six schools: Weill Cornell in New York, Harvard Medical School, the University of California at San Francisco, Baylor School of Medicine, University of Michigan School of Medicine and the University of California at San Diego.
In some cases, students were openly displaying their support of Hamas terrorists, the authors said.
“Students were observed wearing symbols associated with the conflict between Israel and terror organizations,” they said.
“This is the antithesis to creating knowledgeable and sensitive health care providers.”
The report cited other examples of offensive behavior, including:
- At Weill-Cornell, a student delivered a loud protest on the stage, accusing professors of “complicity with genocide” as other students marched around the invited guests chanting, “Free, free, free Palestine!,” implying a call for destruction of the Jewish state and removal of Jews from Israel.
- At Stanford Medical School, a medical student wore a three-part stole and carried a large keffiyeh to the stage and unfurled it, revealing an antisemitic sign on its reverse side.
- Outside the commencement ceremony at Brown University, students chanted, “From the river to the sea!,” a euphemism included in the Hamas terrorist charter conveying the desire for annihilation of the Jewish people and the state of Israel, the study said.
