Nurse Fired for Calling Gaza War "Genocide" During
Compassion Award Speech
A New York City hospital terminated a nurse after she
referred to Israel's war in Gaza as "genocide" while accepting an
award for compassion. Palestinian American labor and delivery nurse Hesen Jabr
was honored by NYU Langone Health for her empathy in caring for mothers who had
lost babies. During her acceptance speech, Jabr connected her work with the
suffering of mothers in Gaza.
"It pains me to see the women from my country
experiencing unimaginable losses during the current genocide in Gaza,"
Jabr stated in her speech on May 7, which she later shared on social media. She
emphasized that the award was deeply personal due to the ongoing situation in
Gaza.
Jabr recounted on Instagram that when she returned to work
on May 22, she was called into a meeting with the hospital's president and vice
president of nursing. They criticized her for "putting others at
risk," "ruining the ceremony," and "offending people"
with her remarks. After working most of her shift, Jabr was again summoned to
an office where she was handed her termination letter and escorted out.
Steve Ritea, a spokesperson for NYU Langone, confirmed
Jabr's dismissal, citing a previous warning from December about discussing
divisive issues at work. Ritea stated that Jabr's comments at the employee
recognition event upset several colleagues, leading to her termination.
Jabr defended her speech, arguing that mentioning the war
was pertinent to the award for bereavement. "It was for grieving mothers,"
she told The New York Times.
The conflict in Gaza has resulted in over 36,000 deaths and
the displacement of 80% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, according to Gaza's
Hamas-run Ministry of Health. Critics label Israel's military actions as
genocide, a claim formally supported by South Africa, which petitioned the UN's
top court to halt Israeli operations. Israel denies the genocide allegations,
asserting efforts to protect Gaza's civilians.
This incident follows a pattern at the hospital, previously
renamed after a major donation from Republican donor Kenneth Langone, another
high-profile firing involved biologist Benjamin Neel, who was dismissed for
posting anti-Hamas cartoons. Neel has since sued the hospital.
Jabr, no stranger to controversy, previously gained
attention when the ACLU sued on her behalf after she was forced to accept a
Bible from her public school principal in Louisiana at age 11. "This is
not my first rodeo," she remarked.
