Pro-palestine nurses ‘mistreated Jewish boy’

AN NHS Trust is investigating accusations that pro-palestine nurses denied a nine-year-old Jewish boy correct care.

Elliott Smus, who is based in Tel Aviv, Israel, wrote on Linkedin on Wednesday about an alleged incident at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital involving his young nephew, who suffers from a rare blood disorder.

Mr Smus said that his nephew, who has suffered with his condition for most of his life, requires a blood transfusion every month or two, spending up to days in hospital for treatment.

He said that his nephew is from a religious Jewish family and wears a kippah and tzitzit, clothing typically worn by orthodox Jewish males.

But he claimed that the child was “kicked out of his bay” by nurses wearing “Free Palestine” badges and forced “to lie on the floor with a cannula in”. As a result, Mr Smus said that his nephew is now scared that if he wears clothing that identifies him as visibly Jewish, he will not receive treatment.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has launched an investigation. And Countdown presenter Rachel Riley, who is Jewish, described the alleged incident as “horrendous”.

Mr Smus, who has been contacted for comment, said on social media: “As a religious Jewish family, my nephew wears his black kippah (yamulka, religious hat whatever you want to call it) and his tzitzit proudly.

“Not today. Why you ask? The nurses (NHS employees) are all walking around wearing “Free Palestine” pins and he was scared. 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 nine-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 had to lie on the floor with a cannula in.

“Now the damage is done and my proudly Jewish nephew (and his parents) is scared to not get treatment if he wears his kippah and tzitzit.

“Coincidentally, today when not visibly Jewish, he received quick care. Also worth noting, prior to the conflict he received excellent care. It is terrifying to be a Jew in the world again.”

The Community Security Trust, which records anti-semitic incidents, said that anti-semitism hit an all-time high in 2023 in an “explosion of hatred” following the Hamas terror attacks on Israel. The surge in attacks, threats and abuse amounted to a “celebration” of Hamas’s Oct 7 massacre by anti-semites whose own hatred was fuelled by the brutality of the attacks, the charity said.