Pro-Palestinian Leaflets Distributed in London Hospitals Spark Outrage
Pro-Palestinian activists distributed controversial leaflets inside London hospitals, sparking outrage and accusations of intimidating Jewish patients and medical staff.
Pro-Palestinian activists have been accused of intimidating Jewish patients and staff by distributing leaflets accusing Israel of genocide inside treatment rooms and waiting areas across hospitals in the United Kingdom.
According to a report by The Daily Telegraph, the campaign group Health Workers for a Free Palestine distributed the materials in recent weeks across several National Health Service facilities, including the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead—which serves a large Jewish population in north London—and University College Hospital in central London. The leaflets were left in public spaces, waiting areas, and chemotherapy rooms, accusing Israel of deliberately starving Gaza's population and claiming that NHS managers harass staff who express solidarity with Palestinians.
Opposition to Anti-Semitism Guidelines
The literature also targets the government's adviser on antisemitism, John Mann, criticizing his efforts to adopt recommendations from a report aimed at tackling antisemitism within the healthcare system. The report, published in June, uncovered evidence of routine ostracization of Jewish staff and patients, as well as instances where Jewish patients delayed medical treatments or concealed their identities out of fear of hostility.
Caroline Turner, director of UK Lawyers for Israel, told the Telegraph that the leaflets cause deep distress to vulnerable Jewish and Israeli patients and their families, undermining efforts to eradicate antisemitism in medicine. In response, John Mann condemned the distribution, stating that public healthcare facilities are no longer a safe space and must remain free from extremist politics.
Hospital Security and Institutional Response
Security personnel at the Royal Free Hospital intercepted the activists, ordered them to leave the premises, and confiscated the remaining literature. Hospital management reiterated that all campaigning activities are strictly prohibited on NHS grounds to ensure a safe environment for all visitors.
Meanwhile, Dr. Huda Mahmoud, a nephrologist and chair of the activist group, previously dismissed Mann's recommendations as racist cultural erasure, arguing that restrictions on political symbols amount to a denial of Palestinian identity. The controversy follows a decision last year by Barts Health NHS Trust to ban staff from wearing pro-Palestinian symbols across five London hospitals following complaints from patients, including a Jewish woman who encountered staff wearing such badges prior to surgery.
