A health care provider who ran a most cancers middle at NYU Langone Health filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired for social media posts regarding the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas on Israel.
Dr. Benjamin Neel, the director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, claimed he was fired Nov. 10 for reposting social media content material that “criticized people who supported the violence toward and death of Israelis,” in keeping with the grievance filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court docket.
The lawsuit comes amid intense social media debate concerning the conflict within the Center East, which was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas assault, which left 1,200 Israelis lifeless and one other 240 taken hostage. In response Israel attacked the Gaza Strip, killing greater than 11,000 Palestinians, in keeping with the Hamas-run well being ministry.
On Oct. 31, Neel was suspended and informed he could be fired as director of the most cancers middle “in response to social media reactions and some patient complaints” concerning the reposts, in keeping with the lawsuit, which additionally names New York College as a defendant. A resident at NYU Langone Hospital-Lengthy Island, Zaki Masoud, was suspended on the identical day as Neel after social media posts criticizing Israel.
Neel “became a casualty of NYULH’s ill-considered plan to feign the appearance of even-handedness — as though calling for revolution and the murder of innocents is the same as criticizing those who celebrate terrorism,” in keeping with the grievance. “In truth, Dr. Neel’s re-posts were far more temperate than much of the social media content and little different than the official views espoused by NYULH.”
A spokesman for the Perlmutter Most cancers Middle had no fast remark. A present contact quantity for Masoud couldn’t be instantly positioned.
Neel mentioned that by asserting his suspension, NYULH left his repute “in tatters” and brought about him to lose one consulting association and left a number of others in “imminent peril.”
