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
Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
The post Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
The post Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.