RSS
UK Jews Demand Investigation Into Alleged Maltreatment of 9-Year-Old Boy by Hospital Nurses Wearing ‘Free Palestine’ Pins
A 9-year-old Jewish boy is seen lying on the floor of the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital in the UK after nurses wearing “Free Palestine” pins allegedly kicked him out of his cubicle. Photo: Elliott Smus via LinkedIn
A prominent British children’s hospital is investigating allegations that a 9-year-old Jewish boy was maltreated and humiliated by nurses bedecked in “Free Palestine” paraphernalia.
The scandal at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital was brought to light in a LinkedIn post written by the boy’s uncle, Elliott Smus, on Thursday. Smus, a British citizen who lives in Tel Aviv, explained that his nephew suffers from a rare blood disorder and receives blood transfusions at the hospital every two months.
The post included a photo of the boy receiving his most recent treatment, sitting on a bed in the hospital wearing a Manchester United replica shirt and without a kippa or any of the other outwardly Jewish signs he normally displays.
“Today he is at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity,” Smus wrote. “As a religious Jewish family, my nephew wears his black kippa (yamulka, religious hat whatever you want to call it) and his tzitzit proudly. Not today.”
Smus said that the boy had been too “scared” to attend treatment wearing his kippa and his tzitzit — the fringed vest worn by observant Jewish males — because of his experience on a previous occasion.
“The nurses (National Health Service employees) are all walking around wearing ‘Free Palestine’ pins and he was scared,” Smus wrote. “Beyond that, the last few times he went in he was denied correct medical care by the same couple of nurses every time. This culminated the last time he went in, when my visibly Jewish, 9-year-old nephew, with an autoimmune blood disease was kicked out of his bay, by one of the nurses who was covered in pro-Palestine badges and stickers, and due to that, had to lie on the floor with a canula in.”
A second photo accompanying the post showed the boy lying on the hospital floor on the day that he attended wearing his religious garments.
Smus continued: “Now the damage is done and my proudly Jewish nephew (and his parents) is scared to not get treatment if he wears his kippa and tzitzit.” He then pointed out that “today when not visibly Jewish, he received quick care. Also worth noting, prior to the conflict [between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza] he received excellent care.”
Smus said that his nephew’s experience was emblematic of the insecurity facing diaspora Jewish communities amidst the conflict in Gaza sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught in Israel.
“What the actual fu*k is going on?” he wrote. “Is this the world we will live in? Is it 1940 again? It is terrifying to be a Jew in the world again.”
The case has now been taken up by the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester (JRC), which filed a complaint with the hospital.
It noted the allegation that the boy “who is a religious Jew and clearly visible as such, was maltreated by several nurses who were wearing ‘Free Palestine’ badges in the outpatients department of Ward 84. Part of this maltreatment includes a failure to administer proper treatment and being removed from his cubicle and having to sit on the floor.”
The letter emphasized that “the child now feels terrified to return to hospital unless he hides his Jewish identity.”
The JRC urged the hospital authorities to investigate the allegations “as a matter of extreme urgency.”
“This could have catastrophic repercussions for the Jewish community if they were to feel they are not safe attending your hospital,” the JRC said.
The complaint also demanded clarification on the hospital’s policy regarding staff wearing political statements on their work clothing. A spokesperson for the hospital told the Manchester Evening News that “no staff groups are permitted to wear any offensive or political statement badges whilst on duty,” and “the wearing of T-shirts or garments with political statements is not allowed, symbols and badges are not permitted, unless they are in recognition of an approved [Health Service] Trust campaign, a recognized professional body, or Trust ID badges.”
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said that he was backing an investigation into the allegations.
“I have seen the troubling reports shared on social media and have asked the Royal Children’s Hospital to launch an urgent investigation,” Burnham said. “No one should feel treated differently in our hospitals because of their race or religion.”
More than 4,000 antisemitic incidents were reported in the UK during 2023 — a new record. The vast majority occurred in the wake of the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7. Approximately 300,000 Jews are resident in the UK.
The post UK Jews Demand Investigation Into Alleged Maltreatment of 9-Year-Old Boy by Hospital Nurses Wearing ‘Free Palestine’ Pins first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.