A New York University Langone Medical Centre in the United States (US) recently fired a Palestinian-American Muslim nurse for describing Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip as a ‘genocide’ during an award ceremony speech.
Taking to Instagram, Hesen Jabr, a labor and delivery nurse, has shared a video of her speech while accepting an award for providing excellent care to patients suffering perinatal loss.
Jabr said, “It pains me to see the women from my country going through unimaginable losses themselves during the current genocide in Gaza.”
“Even though I can’t hold their hands and comfort them as they grieve their unborn children and the children they have lost during this genocide, I hope to keep making them proud as I keep representing them here at NYU,” she added.
Watch the video here
The caption of the post read, “On May 7th, I gave an acceptance speech for an award I received for my work with bereaving mothers who lost their children during pregnancy and childbirth.”
“On May 22nd, I arrived on my first shift back since receiving the award. As soon as I walked onto the unit, I was dragged into an impromptu meeting with the President and Vice President of Nursing at NYU Langone to discuss how I ‘put others at risk’ and ‘ruined the ceremony’ and ‘offended people’ because a small part of my speech was a tribute towards the grieving mothers in my country.”
She continued that she was sent back to work her shift while the hospital spent the day “figuring out” what to do with her.
“After working almost the entire shift, I was dragged once again to an office where I was read my termination letter by the director of human resources, Austin Bender, and escorted off the premises by a plain clothes police officer,” Jabr added.
“You’re not going crazy and you’re not missing anything…This is the paradox that is NYU Langone Medical Center.
On Thursday, May 30, a spokesperson of the hospital, NYU Langone Health, said that Jabr had previously been warned not to bring her views “on this divisive and charged issue into the workplace,” Reuters reported.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving more than 35,000 deaths and 79,300 injured, causing massive infrastructure destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel also continues the war despite the provisional measures issued by the ICJ, as well as despite the UN Security Council (UNSC) later issuing an immediate ceasefire resolution.
