Campaign Against Antisemitism documentary exposes antisemitism in British healthcare system

SEPTEMBER 15, 2026 18:13Campaign Against Antisemitism has exposed "the antisemitic rot" at the heart of Britain's National Health Service (NHS) in its new documentary, released Monday.The documentary - Malignant: Antisemitism in the NHS - presents interviews with NHS practitioners and patients, revealing shocking incidents such as a senior Jewish medical professor receiving antisemitic death threats, and a Jewish emergency worker being physically attacked by a colleague.Shelley Lipman, a registered nurse in a hospital in Cambridge, said that even though she was raised secular, she is "fiercely proud to be Jewish" and has Hebrew tattoos on her arm as a statement of her identity."One of my colleagues who's a healthcare assistant asked me what they meant. So then it came out that I was Jewish. And then I went on lunch, and when I came back the nurse was there literally holding a Nazi salute," she said.Another woman said she attended an event where a staff member said Jews don't understand what racism is. The woman said when she tried to correct the staff member, "she then lunged across the table at me and tried to grab me across the table."NHS workers from the Medics For Gaza arrive at the pro Palestine rally at Israeli Embassy on March 22, 2025 in London, England. (credit: Guy Smallman/Getty Images)A dentist testified to being in a dental group of 20,000 registered dental professionals where there was a public vote to ban and remove Zionists from the group because "they were spying on the other dentists in the group.""Shortly after that vote, many of us were removed from the group, people with Jewish-sounding names."Speaking to the camera, Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at CAA, reported that doctors with Jewish-sounding names have stopped wearing their name badges, and have been advised to stop ordering kosher food in hospitals so as to hide their identity. In fact, figures in July of this year said requests for kosher meals in British hospitals have reportedly halved in two years.Silverman also said many NHS doctors are resigning and moving into private practice instead, where they find things safer.Doctors also reported being either too scared to report incidents or feeling there was no point reporting them, as the issues were not dealt with.One professional said he raised informal complaints and then formal complaints and grievances for years, but felt "the Trust tried to obfuscate, tried to misconstrue my concerns, and just do a number of things that in the end just made it impossible for me to continue working there. It made me ill, and it made me depressed. So I left."Doctor accuses Jews of shooting children for fun during surgeryAntisemitism was also an expressed concern for patients.One shocking incident was recalled by patient Sam Freeman, who spoke of having an operation to remove a type of skin cancer from his forehead.While the surgeon was cutting areas of skin from his forehead, he started speaking about the war in Gaza, adding, "you would think they would know better given what happened to them in Europe."Freeman remembered asking who the surgeon meant by 'they.'"His response to that, as he's making an incision in my head, was 'the Jews, the Jews should know better, the Jews do it just for fun they shoot children in the head or the leg on a for fun.'"Freeman said that he realized at that moment that his Star of David necklace, normally hidden under his shirt, was visible."The guy has a knife. He's working on me. It's about as vulnerable you could be in terms of a patient and doctor interaction. I was panicking because I didn't know if he was going to intentionally cause me harm."Freeman is now in the process of making formal complaints, but says he thinks it's really difficult for Jewish patients to complain.These are just some of the many incidents laid out in the documentary.Additionally, on the same day CAA published representative polling of the Jewish community that shows a clear majority of British Jews would be concerned about not receiving equal care because they are Jewish (65%), and one third of British Jews who have used the NHS since October 7, 2023 say that they were uncomfortable due to their Jewish identity.More than four in ten British Jews who have used the NHS since October 7, 2023 took steps to hide their Jewish identity.“Our documentary exposes the antisemitic rot at the heart of our NHS," said Silverman. "The anecdotal evidence presented in our film, together with the empirical data provided by our polling, demonstrate the magnitude and severity of this institutional crisis."“At the very moment when they need the NHS the most, instead of being able to trust our national healthcare provider, Jewish people are having to hide their identity for fear of unequal treatment or abuse. As long as that is the case, the NHS cannot be said to be for everyone.”Judaism only religious group seeing rising discrimination in NHS, review findsCAA CEO Gideon Falter said, "It was hard to fathom the depth of hatred that we were hearing about."He said the crisis requires a wide-ranging response that addresses the growing extremist culture within healthcare, the failure of regulation, the lack of transparency, and the absence of accountability.In June 2026, UK government advisor on antisemitism Lord John Mann released his review of antisemitism in the NHS.As part of the review, Mann heard that Jewish people in the NHS experience “routine ostracism”, with Jewish staff being the only religious group in the latest NHS Staff Survey for whom discrimination from colleagues is rising rather than falling, resulting in some considering leaving the NHS."It is well-evidenced that racism is persistent in the NHS," Mann said, adding that "the case for taking action to combat antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS is clear."The Jerusalem Post reached out to the NHS for comment.Follow us on Google