Hospitals, clinics and medical schools are supposed to be neutral spaces dedicated to healing. Yet antisemitism is increasingly infecting these institutions, from overt hate speech by healthcare workers to exclusionary practices that block Jewish clinicians from professional collaboration. Patients and providers alike are paying the price: trust is eroding, staff feel unsafe and care is compromised. Medicine’s ethical foundation is under attack, and institutions cannot afford to look away.

Recent incidents illustrate how antisemitism manifests in healthcare. A Dallas mental health clinic allegedly terminated two Jewish therapists after they provided culturally competent support to a colleague treating a patient coping with antisemitism-related trauma. In Chicago, a professional Facebook group for therapists excluded all Jewish participants, including those with Jewish-sounding names and the group’s Jewish founder, cutting them off from collaboration.

In academic medicine, a peer-reviewed analysis of 2024 medical school graduation ceremonies found that at least half of the top 25 U.S. medical schools exhibited unprofessional conduct widely viewed as antisemitic, including messages opposing Jewish self-determination or equating Israel with genocide displayed at official ceremonies.

Antisemitism also appears through overt hate speech by healthcare workers. In Florida, a nurse posted online content praising Hitler, blaming Jewish people for personal problems and calling for violence against Israel. Some therapists and online groups promoting “Decolonizing Therapy” frameworks have characterized Zionism, a core element of Jewish identity for many Jews, as evidence of a “colonized mind” or psychological pathology requiring correction. Some diagrams even linked Zionism to “genocidal tendencies” under the banner of systemic oppression. Such rhetoric blurs ideological disagreement and clinical judgment, raising profound ethical concerns.

A 2024 survey of 645 healthcare professionals published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that nearly 40% of Jewish healthcare workers experienced antisemitism at work. More than 26% reported feeling unsafe or threatened. Respondents described hearing colleagues say things like, “Zionists should not receive medical care,“ language fundamentally incompatible with medical ethics.

These experiences occur in a broader societal context. Jews comprise just 2.4% of the U.S. population yet are the targets of 68% of all religion-based hate crimes, according to FBI data. A 2025 report by the American Jewish Committee found that 69% of Jewish adults have experienced antisemitism; that number rises to 83% among Jewish young adults.

These trends do not stop at the hospital door.

Despite extensive investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, antisemitism remains poorly understood and frequently excluded from institutional anti-bias training. Nearly three-quarters of Jewish healthcare professionals report attending such mandatory training, yet less than 2% say antisemitism was mentioned. Medical anti-bias curricula often examine racism and other forms of discrimination while omitting antisemitism entirely. At the same time, organizations focused on antisemitism education have rarely developed training tailored to healthcare’s ethical, clinical and legal realities.

The result is a dangerous gap: Jewish professionals are left unprotected, institutions are unprepared and antisemitism continues unchecked in spaces where trust is essential.

The Center for Combating Antisemitism, a division of StandWithUs that equips institutions with evidence-based tools to recognize, address and prevent antisemitism, has created a resource for addressing this gap. Its “Antisemitism Is Bad for Medicine” training model is designed specifically for healthcare settings, where bias has immediate consequences for patient safety, workforce stability and institutional integrity.

The training integrates seamlessly into existing anti-bias and compliance programs rather than competing with them. It features interactive content, including case studies, facilitated discussion and scenario-based learning from real clinical settings. Crucially, it is customizable, allowing institutions to adapt the module to their culture, workforce and regulatory environment while maintaining consistent standards. Institutions that adopt this approach can protect patients and staff, ensure compliance with federal civil rights law, reduce legal and reputational risk and demonstrate leadership in ethics and patient-centered care.

Effective diagnostic tools already exist. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism provides a global-consensus framework for consistent recognition while protecting legitimate discourse. Paired with healthcare-specific education, it gives leaders and professionals the clarity needed to act rather than defer.

The healthcare sector has long seen itself as a moral leader. At a moment when antisemitism is rising across society, that leadership is being tested. Silence is not neutral; in medicine, it is a failure of care.

Healthcare has long been a pillar of Jewish communal investment and moral leadership as well. Jewish philanthropy has both an opportunity and an obligation to lead once again by ensuring that institutions entrusted with healing are equipped to confront antisemitism competently and ethically.

The question is no longer whether healthcare institutions should act, but whether they are willing to uphold the values they claim to represent.

Peggy Shapiro is the executive director of the Center For Combatting Antisemitism.