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UK Medical Regulator Under Fire After Doctor Who Demonized Jews, Praised Oct. 7 Allowed to Keep Treating Patients
Dr. Rahmeh Aladwan addresses the Activist Independent Movement’s Nakba77, Birmingham Demonstration for Palestine, outside the local BBC offices and studios in 2025. Photo: Screenshot
The United Kingdom’s top medical regulatory body is facing scrutiny for a recent decision to allow a doctor who on social media called for the ethnic cleaning of Jews and celebrated the terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel to continue practicing medicine.
The General Medical Council (GMC) confirmed that it has re-referred the case of Dr. Rahmeh Aladwan, a trainee trauma and orthopedic surgeon, to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). The move came just one day after the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), a British nongovernmental organization, earlier this week announced plans to challenge in court the GMC’s initial decision to let Aladwan continue practicing without restriction while under investigation.
In a statement, the GMC said it had referred Aladwan to “an interim orders tribunal,” adding that such referrals are made when an interim order “is necessary to protect the public or public confidence in doctors during an investigation.” The new hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23, according to The Guardian.
The controversy follows a Sept. 25 tribunal ruling that Aladwan’s conduct had not done anything to “undermine public confidence in the medical profession” and that her comments did not “amount to bullying or harassment.” The MPTS panel concluded that “a reasonable and fully informed member of the public would not be alarmed or concerned” by her being allowed to continue treating patients.
According to the CAA, Aladwan has repeatedly used social media to share her antisemitic ideology. Posts cited by the group and shared widely online include her description of the Royal Free Hospital in London as “a Jewish supremacy cesspit,” her claim that “over 90% of the world’s Jews are genocidal,” and her call to “globalize the intifada” in response to a report about a deadly terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue.
She also wrote, “October 7. The day Israel was humiliated. Their supremacy shattered at the hands of the children they forced out of their homes. The children who watched foreign jews [sic] execute their loved ones, rape their land, and live on their stolen soil.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people, kidnapped 251 hostages, and perpetrated widespread sexual violence during their invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which became the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
Despite such remarks, the September tribunal said Aladwan’s right to free expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights outweighed concerns about public safety. Her lawyers argued that she had exercised her legitimate political speech rights as a Palestinian opposing Israel, describing her as a “direct victim of genocide and dispossession” with an otherwise “impeccable clinical record.”
The CAA called the tribunal’s reasoning “extraordinary,” saying it was “inconceivable that a Jewish person would feel safe receiving treatment from this doctor.” After threatening a judicial review of the GMC’s handling of the case, the group welcomed the regulator’s reversal.
“Just one day after we notified the GMC of our intention to launch a legal challenge, the regulator is re-referring her case,” a CAA spokesperson said in a statement. “Why does it take the threat of legal action from us to get regulators in Britain to do their duty?”
Britain’s Health Secretary Wes Streeting also condemned the original ruling and announced plans to reform medical oversight procedures. He said he had no confidence in the GMC’s judgment and vowed to “root out the evil of racism” from the National Health Service.
“Sickening comments like these have no place in the NHS,” Streeting told The Times. “Action needs to be taken to make it easier to kick racists out of the NHS. The current regulatory system is completely failing to protect patients and staff.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told The Times that Streeting had ordered officials to draft new rules that would suspend doctors accused of racism or antisemitism while investigations are ongoing, calling it “ridiculous that racist medics are free to continue operating with impunity until a tribunal can be held.”
Streeting’s remarks prompted Aladwan’s legal representatives at Rahman Lowe Solicitors to accuse him of interfering with judicial independence. In a letter to the health secretary, they called his statements “an egregious breach of your duties as a minister to uphold the rule of law and also the independence of both the GMC and of judicial proceedings.”
CAA said it welcomed Streeting’s strong words but insisted that regulators must still act decisively. The organization also warned that Aladwan’s case is not unique, citing “myriad other medical cases” involving antisemitic conduct by health-care professionals.
In recent months, The Algemeiner has reported extensively on rising antisemitism within health-care settings across the UK and also the broader Western world, leaving Jewish patients feeling unsafe and marginalized.
“The Manchester terrorist attack took place in no small part because of a cataclysmic failure in enforcement by the authorities – from our streets to the professions,” CAA said in a statement. “It is evident to any reasonable person that this doctor is wholly unfit to practice medicine. Let us hope the system delivers the correct result this time.”
Aladwan’s posts have remained visible on X (formerly Twitter), where she wrote Wednesday that “a doctor can harm a British patient and get a hearing. Accuse a doctor of ‘anti-Semitism,’ and they’re gone. That’s the hierarchy. That’s Jewish supremacy. This is Britain.”
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Police eye Iran involvement as 3 London synagogues are targeted in arson attacks
(JTA) — Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with an arson attack on a London synagogue on Sunday, the third within days on Jewish targets in the city.
No one was injured at Kenton United Synagogue after police said a “bottle with some sort of accelerant” was thrown through a window. A fire was extinguished before it could do significant damage.
Police offered few details about the men arrested beyond their ages, 17 and 19. But they said they saw emerging evidence that the attack and others in recent days may have been conducted in exchange for payments from Iran, which has said it would strike targets abroad in response to the U.S.-Israeli war against it.
“We’ve seen a pattern,” Matt Jukes, the police force’s deputy commissioner, said on the BBC on Monday. He said there had been 15 arrests related to incidents targeting the Jewish community in recent weeks and most appeared to be of “people taking cash as it looks like quick and easy money” to stage an attack.
Many of the attacks, including the most recent one, have been claimed by a new group, The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, that appears Iran-linked and says it is behind arsons and explosives targeting synagogues across Europe.
Jukes and Vicki Evans, the Metropolitan Police’s senior national coordination for counterterrorism, addressed the drumbeat of London attacks during a press conference on Sunday outside the Kenton synagogue. There, Evans spoke directly to Brits who might be considered as a get-rich-quick scheme.
“To anyone even considering getting involved, my message to you would be this: The stakes are high — and it is absolutely not worth the risk for a small reward,” she said. “Those tasking you will not be there when you are arrested and face court. You will be used once and thrown away without a second thought.”
The Kenton arson followed multiple other incidents in recent days. Two people were arrested after throwing bottles containing liquid at Finchley Reform Synagogue last week, and on Friday a fire was set at a nearby building that formerly held a nonprofit called Jewish Futures and still bears its sign. Suspicious material was also found near the Israeli embassy.
Last month, arsonists set fire to ambulances owned by Hatzola, an emergency service operated by a Jewish nonprofit. At least five people, including several young adults and one person who does not hold British citizenship, have been arrested in connection with the arson. Police also arrested multiple men who they said had been spying on British Jewish communities on behalf of Iran.
British Jewish leaders have responded to the incidents with growing alarm, even as police have worked to apprehend the perpetrators and calm tensions.
“A sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum. This sustained attack on our community’s ability to worship and live in safety is an attack on the values that bind us all together,” Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said in a statement. “Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, an advocacy group, criticized the government for failing to designate and ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group. British lawmakers tabled a proposal to adopt such a designation, which other countries including the United States and the European Union have adopted as a tool to fight Iran’s malign influence, earlier this year.
“It is shocking that concern for the sensitivities of a violent Iranian regime is more important to the Government than the welfare of Jewish people in this country,” the Campaign Against Antisemitism said.
And the Board of Deputies, a group representing Jewish communities, urged British Jews to follow security guidelines and vowed to defy the violence.
“Our community will not be intimidated by these cowardly acts of hate, which are an attack on Britain and its values, and on the security and cohesion of everyone in our country,” it said.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Police eye Iran involvement as 3 London synagogues are targeted in arson attacks appeared first on The Forward.
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U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan calls Israeli government ‘evil’ like Hamas
Abdul El-Sayed, a U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan, said in an interview aired Sunday that the Israeli government is as “evil” as Hamas, sharpening his criticism of Israel in the closely-watched Democratic primary.
“Killing tens of thousands of people makes you pretty damn evil,” El-Sayed told CNN congressional reporter Manu Raja on the network’s Inside Politics program. “It’s not how evil is this one versus that one — Hamas: Evil, Israeli government: Evil. We can say both.”
El-Sayed, 41, is a physician and the son of Egyptian immigrants. He is seeking to channel the energy of the 2024 Uncommitted movement, which protested the Biden administration’s support for Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza. He is also hoping to build on the surprise success of the New York City mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani in taking on the Democratic establishment.
He is locked in a dead heat with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens. The primary is set for Aug. 4.
Earlier this month, El-Sayed faced backlash for appearing alongside streamer Hasan Piker, who has been accused of antisemitic rhetoric — including saying that Hamas “is a thousand times better” than Israel. McMorrow, who is married to a Jewish man, and Stevens, who is closely aligned with AIPAC, have both criticized El-Sayed.
In the CNN interview, El-Sayed defended his decision to campaign with Piker, framing it as an effort to reach voters who feel alienated from traditional politics. “My understanding of America is, it’s a place where we have freedom of speech,” he said.
#MISen Abdul El-Sayed on CNN Inside Politics: @mkraju: You said Israeli government is evil. Do you think they’re just as evil as Hamas?
El-Sayed: “Yes, killing tens of thousands of people makes you pretty damn evil. It’s not about how evil one is versus the other. Hamas —… pic.twitter.com/4GfJ5oCtqR
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) April 19, 2026
The Michigan Senate race is shaping up as one of the starkest tests of the Democratic coalition and how the party navigates policy towards Israel in Congress amid the wars in Gaza and Iran. The state is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States.
Last week, 40 Senate Democrats voted to block $295 million for the transfer of bulldozers, used by the Israeli military to demolish homes in the West Bank and Gaza; 36 of them also supported a measure to block the sale of 1,000-pound bombs to the Jewish state. It shattered a previous high of 27 Democrats who backed a similar pair of resolutions of disapproval to block some weapons transfers last year.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who is Jewish, was among those who voted for the measures. In remarks as they announced their votes, Democrats highlighted their opposition to the Israeli government’s policies in the occupied West Bank, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the war with Iran.
The post U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan calls Israeli government ‘evil’ like Hamas appeared first on The Forward.
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NYC Mayor Mamdani Unveils Major Tax Hike on Unoccupied Luxury Real Estate
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference at the New York City Office of Emergency Management, as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, in Brooklyn, New York City, US, Jan. 25, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Bing Guan
i24 News – NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has officially introduced a controversial new tax targeting secondary residences valued at over $5 million.
The measure, designed to tap into the city’s vast concentration of unoccupied luxury wealth, is projected to generate roughly $500 million annually for the municipal budget.
“This tax is specifically aimed at the ultra-rich,” Mamdani stated, highlighting high-profile examples such as Ken Griffin’s $238 million Midtown penthouse and Alexander Varshavsky’s $20.5 million Columbus Circle residence.
While the city has yet to finalize specific evaluation criteria or the methods for distinguishing primary from secondary homes, the proposal has already become a flashpoint for economic debate.
The move has drawn sharp condemnation from billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who argued that the policy is fundamentally flawed.
Ackman contended that owners of luxury secondary residences contribute significant capital to the local economy without utilizing costly municipal services. He warned that the tax would likely trigger a corporate and high-net-worth exodus to low-tax jurisdictions like Miami, ultimately harming the city’s tax base.
President Donald Trump also entered the fray, denouncing the policy as “totally misguided” and claiming it is “destroying New York.” Trump, whose own extensive real estate holdings in the city could be impacted, argued that such taxation serves only to drive away the international investors who fuel New York’s development.
Implementation remains a significant question mark, as the tax could potentially affect nearly 13,000 property owners, including major figures like Jeff Bezos. Financial analysts point out that many of the city’s most expensive apartments are held through complex offshore structures and shell companies, making the identification and appraisal of these properties an immense administrative challenge for the city.
As the debate intensifies, the Mamdani administration faces a difficult path ahead in balancing its “tax the rich” mandate with the practical realities of New York’s competitive global real estate market.